Through a Dragon's Eye
by RoseDragonWitch
Summary: When two outcasts-a lonely orphan named Yugi and a friendless young Yami meet-the land is set into surefire chaos as both boys are endowed to save their people from an ancient terror. Will there be everlasting peace? Or just everlasting darkness?
1. The Makings of a True Friend

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 1-The Makings of a True Friend

A child, not much older than 7, was walking through a golden field. He was small and skinny for his age, but he had such a kind, and gentle personality that you can't imagine he could bring himself to harm a single living thing. He had wide, purple (or rather amethyst colored) eyes, wide and so innocent for even a child for his age; and spiky, multi-colored hair; His face had a soft, and gentle, heart shape look to it and he was a pale as freshly fallen snow. This sweet, innocent boy's name was Yugi

He was dressed in simple, slightly torn, shirt and pants; and was running barefooted through the golden field of tall grass. It was the very middle of autumn and it was time for the harvest; so as the villagers were all cutting wheat and harvesting all the gardens. The boy alone had nothing to do.

Yugi was an orphan so he didn't have any work to do here. He lost his parents during a plague a couple years ago and it was only through the sympathy of the other villagers that he was able to eat anything at all. Ever since his parents died he became even lonelier, he had no other relatives, the other children of the village didn't want anything to do with him, and the adults were always busy… he had no one. He was always alone… he didn't want to feel that way anymore. He wanted a friend, someone, anyone… just someone beside him… so that he wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

He was running through the field trying to escape this place, he couldn't take being here for one more day. He packed a small bag of food and extra clothes, and the few coins that his parents had left him and just ran off early that morning. He turned to look back at the small village where he was born and where he spent his first 7 years growing up there.

It wasn't too late. He could still go back to the small shack where he lived with his parents before they left this world, he could go back now and forget this whole idea of running away. He could return to that little hut… alone. No one to greet him, no one to talk to… forever… he made up his mind. If he turned back now, he knew that he would be spending the rest of his life without a single friend, and he also knew that going forward would be dangerous… but he might at least be able to make at least one friend. That was all that he wanted.

So, squaring his small shoulders Yugi ran off, and this time he didn't look back.

Miles away another boy, around the same age as Yugi, was wandering past a large lake as he watched the happy families work, play, and having a good time; he wished that he could join them. This boy looked nearly identical to Yugi, he and Yugi had the same kind of mult-colored hair; and a kind of sweet and innocence but in a different way than Yugi was. He was also taller, and his skin was tan; he had a sharper face, and even sharper eyes. His name was Yami and he was like an older version of Yugi, but like Yugi he was running away from home. He was running away from his father… he couldn't stand to see his father this way anymore. His father… once so kind and noble… now Yami hardly even recognized him; he couldn't stand to see his father like that anymore… so he ran away from home… and for the first time in his life… he was free at last.

And also like Yugi… he was alone. He had been traveling around by himself for a while now and had grown so sad when he saw other kids his age running around and playing with their friends enjoying their lives. Yami tried to go and meet some of those kids and try to talk to them but… they always shied away from him as though he had some kind of disease.

Not that he blamed them… he was a stranger… with no home, no family, and no friends. He usually just passed on by villages but he was starting to run low on food; he had to start making some money soon or he would have nothing to buy anything with.

He went shopping in this villages' small market and, with the last of his money, bought as much as he could carry. He would have stopped in this village to rest for the night… but he had to get moving on. The thing was though… he didn't know what he was looking for.

He had been traveling around without any luck at all. He ran away from home almost a month ago and he still had no idea where he was going or what he was going to do. He just knew that he couldn't go home… not now. What he was looking for… he had no idea. But anywhere was better than going home; he just hoped that he could find someone who could help him… and soon.

Just when Yugi had reached the main road he met a man in a wagon covered with hay being pulled by a donkey.

"Want a ride, kid?" asked the man.

When Yugi nodded, the man pointed to the back and aloud the small boy to climb aboard. When Yugi was sitting comfortably the wagon started to move again.

"Where ya heading, kid?" he man asked.

"To the next town," Yugi replied.

"Oh, what for?" the man asked.

"Ahhh," Yugi said. He had to think fast, but then decided on the truth, or rather half of it. "I'm looking for someone."

"Oh…" said the man. "I see." There was something strange with the way he said that.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" asked Yugi worriedly. He was afraid that the man would realize what was going on and would take him back to the village.

"Nah, I was just thinking that you seem to be pretty young to be traveling around on your own."

"I'm mature for my age," was what Yugi replied. He was mature for someone his age; every adult had said so back at his village.

The man chuckled. "I can see that for myself, kid," he said. "But you should be more careful from now on. I hear that bandits cover roads and attack every person they see to get whatever money they can get their grubby, filthy hands on."

"Oh," said Yugi. "But, aren't you traveling on your own?" he asked confused.

The man laughed. "No, I'm not alone," he answered. He gestured towards his donkey pulling the wagon. "Me and old, Alfleda, here have been together for years. I trust her more than most humans." As Yugi looked ahead to look at the old donkey the man went on. "It doesn't matter if Alfleda here isn't human, she's still my friend you know?"

"I guess," answered Yugi quietly. But he still didn't understand what the man had meant. Wasn't the donkey just an animal?

The man looked back at Yugi's face and smiled. "It doesn't matter what kind of creature you are. Human or not, as long as you can care for someone else; because a true friend is someone who knows the real us, but will stay with us anyway."

Yugi scratched his head. He still didn't understand what the man was talking about. He never once had a real friend so he didn't understand what it was like to really have one and he wanted to know as much as he could.

"It's simple, kid," the man said when he saw Yugi scratch his head. "A friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be somewhere else. It's like my father always used to say to me… son, when you die, if you've got at least one real friend, then you've had a great life."

"And what if you don't have any friends?" asked Yugi before he could stop himself.

"I'll tell ya kid... someone who doesn't have any friends is person, is a person who lives only half way."

Now Yugi was really confused. What did the man mean? He still didn't understand. What did he mean 'lives only half way'?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I still don't understand. Can you explain it to me in a way that makes sense? Please?" he asked.

The man smiled gently. "Ok, kid, I think the best way for me to say it is that, the best you can do for a friend is simply to be his friend. You have might not have tons of wealth to bestow on him or land to give them. But if they know that you are happy just by being with them, if they are a real friend, then they will want no other reward. A real friend can be quite as dear to you as a sibling would be to you. I don't really know how else to describe it.

Ya see, but you see friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. Aside from love. It's not something you can be taught on your own, but even if you studied for 1000 years and haven't learned the value of friendship, you haven't really learned anything at all. Get it, kid?" the man asked when he was done talking.

The first part Yugi understood. A friend is like a sibling to you. Someone who would be happy just to be with you, at least that's what Yugi thought. But the man just lost him with that last part. _"if you haven't learned the value of friendship, you haven't really learned anything at all." _What did that mean?

"I'm sorry," said Yugi feeling dumber by the second. "But I'm still not sure I get it. I mean… how do you know when someone becomes your friend?" he asked.

The man thought about that for a minute before answering, "You ask some deep questions, kid. You really are mature for someone ya age, kid. Well, we can never tell the precise moment when a friendship is formed."

"When did you become friends with Alfleda?" asked Yugi curiously.

The man thought about that one for a minute before answering. "Well, I know that me and Alfleda becoming friends wasn't just a coincidences," he answered slowly. "I needed a companion for my long journeys, but able to work with me and help me when I was down and push me when I needed a push. So when I met Alfleda, here, when she and I was young, the choice was clear. It had to be her."

Yugi smiled. "But when did you really become friends?" he asked again.

For a while the man didn't speak. "It's strange," he said quietly. "Even after all these years I'm still not entirely sure how or when we became friends. All I know is that we were suddenly together and that's all that matters."

Yugi thought that he understood but before he could really think about it the man spoke again. "Listen, kid, its hard to really understand friendship unless you have one. You don't have too many friends, I take it?" he asked looking back at Yugi.

Yugi could feel red creep into his face. He didn't know what to say to this man… but Yugi got the feeling that he wasn't just a cart-driver. He was someone else. But before Yugi could say anything else the man smiled good-natured at him before turning to face the road again. "Its, alright, kid" he said. "You're still young. It might take a while for you to find a real friend. But just remember, kid, the greatest gift is not found in a castle nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends."

Yugi nodded. He knew that much. He knew when he left the village that it was going to be a long, and hard journey. But that wasn't going to stop him. He wasn't going to spend the rest of his life in that village, feeling so lonely that he could hardly bare it. Without thinking about it he spoke again; he forgot about the man driving here for a second. "How do know if your friends a real friends?" he asked himself again.

"The greatest of friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and downright impossible to forget."

Yugi looked up. The old man had spoken again. "We each need to find our own friends in this world, kid. Sometimes it's just not easy. "Well, if you ask me, kid, the best kinds of friendships are the ones that last. The ones that, like ya know, a friendship with friends that, not only protect you from others when something goes bad, but from yourself when you try to take blame. To have a true friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself."

Yugi thought about that one for a long time. The man didn't say anything else as they rode onward towards the next village; Yugi leaned back and watched the scenery past by though he wasn't really watching it. He continued to think about everything that the man had told him. He wanted nothing more than to understand a real friendship; to know what it was like to never have to be alone again. They continued the ride onward for hours as the sun rose and hung right overhead; and start to slowly set.

"An old friend is the best kind of reflection," said a voice after a long time. Yugi was startled out of his daze and looked at the man again. "Sorry," Yugi said hurriedly. "What did you say?"

"I said that we are almost at the next village," said the man.

_"But that wasn't right,"_ thought Yugi. "But I thought that you said that an old friend is the best kind of reflection."

"No," said the man not looking at him. "You must have dosed off or something," he said. "But if you ask me, I think that an old friend shows you your best reflection. Why bring that up?"

Yugi shook his head. He was sure that the man had said that… but if he denied it… oh well. They were almost at the village anyway. Something was bugging Yugi for a while though. "What's the difference between a true friend and a simple friend?" he asked.

"Oh, that's easy kid," answered the man "If you want to know who a true friend is, they're people who walk in on you when the rest of the world walks out on you. True friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait to hear your answer. How do ya know if someone is a real friend? A true friend wants nothing more from you than for the two of you to be together. A friend who can be silent with us in a moment of confusion… who will stay with us during grief… who can't tolerate not knowing if we are ok or not... that is a friend who cares.. I guess what I'm trying to say kid, is that a true friend is someone that you can dare to be yourself."

Yugi was completely lost now. Dare to be himself? But before he could ask anything else the cart stopped and the man turned to look at him. "Alright kid," he said. "This is your stop. And I must say that it was nice to meet ya," he held out his hand and Yugi shook it. As Yugi jumped down he took one long look at the man and his donkey before the man said, "Promise me, kid, that you'll always remember this: When it starts gets hard to look back... and you're scared to look ahead… as long as you can look beside you and see a friend there. Then you know that everything will be alright."

Yugi nodded though he still didn't quite understand, he was starting to think that he never would. "Thank you for everything," Yugi said to the man before turning and walking away.

"Remember, little Yugi," the man's voice said. "You will play a bigger part in all this, than you know. You won't be alone for much longer. You will have a true friend sooner than you think. So don't ever forget… Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light…. and that every friend begins as a stranger to you."

Yugi stopped dead and spun around to look at the man. He never told him his name, and what did he mean when he said he will play a bigger part in all this? Part of what? And did he just call him a friend? But when he turned to look at the man and his donkey… they were nowhere in sight. The two of them just disappeared… as though they were never there.

Yami was walking along a dirt road, he was nearly at the next village and he was so tired he thought that he would pass out for sure. His eyelids drooped as he forced himself to keep walking; and just when he thought he was going to pass out a pair of hand helped to steady him.

Yami looked up and say a pretty woman helping him. "Are you alright?" she asked him.

Yami nodded not quite sure of what to say. Then all of a sudden he heard hoofs behind him, he looked and saw a large horse looking straight at him. "Sorry, this is my friend Meriet, and he can be pain sometimes. Where are you heading?" she asked him gently.

"Oh, I…" stammered Yami, "The next village," he said truthfully.

"Well, you look so tired. Do you want a ride?" she asked him smiling. And without waiting for an answer she picked him up and placed him on top of the Meriet and they headed off. Yami sure was taken by surprise as they continued walking but he was grateful to be able to rest his poor, aching feet. They continued onwards is silence for a few minutes before Yami was finally able to mutter a thank you to the woman.

"Oh don't mention it, child," she said kindly. "You looked so tired I had to help. Why are you out this far from the village anyway?"

Yami thought fast, "I'm looking for someone."

"Oh, I see," said the woman. After a minute she asked, "Who?"

"Ah… well… a, "said Yami… "A friend," he said fast.

"Oh, I see," she said again. "A friend is someone who helps you up when you're down, and if they can't, then they'll lie down beside you and listen to your heart."

"What?" asked Yami confused.

"Oh, just remembering a saying that my friend once told me," she said. "I agree with it full heartily don't you?" she asked him.

"I'm not quite sure I understand what you meant. They'll lie down and listen to your heart? What does that mean?" he said.

"Well it is not what you can give to your friend, but what you are willing to give to them that determines your friendship," she said calmly. "One loyal friend is worth all the money in the world; and you wouldn't trade that person for anything, right?"

Yami didn't ask anything else. He was confused enough as it was. How is one person worth all the money in the world?

"You're still young," said the woman. "So I'm not sure you quite understand just yet. But you see friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. Aside from love. It's not something you can be taught on your own, but even if you studied for 1000 years and haven't learned the value of friendship, you haven't really learned anything at all."

_"You haven't really learned anything at all?"_ he thought to himself. What does that mean? The woman must have noticed the confused look on his face because she said, "Friendship is the only thing that you purchase with friendship. Someone may have wealth or power over others, but they can only gain their hearts by giving them his own. Sometimes you put your defenses up, not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down. Does that make any sense?" she asked the 7 year old.

Yami shook his head. "I'm sorry but can you explain it simply?" he asked without looking at her. He felt dumber by the second.

The woman smiled at him and said, "Think of it this way, if all my friends were to jump off a bridge, I would not follow; instead I would be at the bottom to catchthem when they needed me. What I mean is that a real friend is willing to let a friend make their own choices… but they are always there when that person needs help. True friends not only protect you from others when something goes bad, but from yourself when you try to take blame."

Ok, now Yami was starting to understand. But he didn't say anything else while they continued walking. He thought about his father again, and wondering what he was doing right now. Yami wondered if he noticed if his only son was gone yet. After listen to this woman talk about friendship, he wanted nothing more than a real friend right now. Because he needed help now; something was bugging at the back mind, so he asked the woman.

"Excuse me, madam," he asked quietly. "But how do you know if someone is a real friend?" Because he was lost when it came to friends, for he never had a real one.

The woman thought about the answer for a minute before answering, "A true friend wants nothing more from you than for the two of you to be together," she started. "To the world you may be just one person, but to a real friend, you might mean the world to them. If you ask me," she said, "An old friend is the best kind of reflection."

"Reflection?" asked Yami.

"It's simple," she said in a quiet voice. "A simple friend will never see you cry… but a real friend is someone who is used to your tears."

"I don't cry," said Yami with blush rushing to his face. "I'm not a baby," he said.. He wasn't a baby, why did this lady think he was.

"I never said that you were," she replied calmly. "But everyone cries once in a while. Even I cry when things get too much for me."

Yami felt his jaw drop. An adult said that she cried? He never thought that was possible.

"Don't look so surprised," she said laughing at his expression. "Everyone cries at least once. Sometimes it's best to cry, or else you will continue to suffer from within."

_"Suffer from within?"_ thought Yami shuttering. He didn't like the sound of that. But he had a feeling that his woman wasn't normal; he had a feeling that she was something else.

But before he could say anything else the woman said, "A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are. Don't take advantage of your true friends, because sometimes they are all you have."

"What?" asked Yami.

"What, what?" she asked friendly.

"What did you just say?" asked Yami.

"I didn't say anything, young man," she answered. "Maybe you just dozed off there for a second."

"But I thought that you said…" began Yami but she cut him off.

"Here we are," she said. Yami looked ahead and realized that they were finally at the village. He didn't even notice.

The woman helped him down from Meriet and set him on his feet. "Thank you for the ride," he said when he was on the ground again, swaying slightly, he was still tired. He was also thinking about what she said before, _"A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are. Don't take advantage of your true friends, because sometimes they are all you have."_

"Don't mention it, young man," she said kindly. "Remember what I told you here, and I hope you find your friend."

Yami was startled for a second, before remembering that he told her that he was looking for a friend. He nodded and thanked her again. She smiled and said to him, "This is my wish for you young man: May you find someone to bring you comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, laughter to your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, love to complete your life."

Yami blushed. He never had anyone tell him anything like that before, he mumbled another thank you before turning away; but he only walked a few feet when the woman spoke again.

"Remember, little Yami," the woman's voice said. "You will play a bigger part in all this, than you know. You will have a true friend sooner than you think.. So don't ever forget… Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light…. and that every friend begins as a stranger to you."

Yami stopped dead and spun around to look at the man.. He never told her his name, and what did she mean when she said he will play a bigger part in all this? Part of what? And did she just call him a friend? But when he turned to look at the woman and the horse that he rode here… they were nowhere in sight. The two of them just disappeared… as though they were never even there.

**_This was chapter one and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you want me to continue this story._**


	2. Some Helping Hands

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 2-Some Helping Hands

Yugi looked around him trying to see where the man had disappeared to but it was like he was never there. There was no way that he could escape that fast; he knew he wasn't just imagining it. He didn't just imagine the man and Alfleda driving him all the way here to the village or the long talk they had… or did he? He was so scared and confused he just took off running into the village.

While he ran off someone was watching over him, the man was keeping a close eye on him through the shadows. He felt bad for the destiny that will soon be forced upon the two young boys but if King Arthur could pull the sword from the stone then he had high hopes for these boys. He had a feeling that they would come through fine, but they did need a little help in finding each other…

He thought that he would help them out a little bit. He wasn't supposed to interfere… but… just a little nudge in the right direction.. Suddenly, a woman had appeared right next to him…

"Well?" he asked her.

"It's done," she said kindly. "I brought the other boy here safely. He's here in the village now. But I think I scared him with my disappearing act."

"Same here," he said pointing at Yugi.

She looked to see where he was pointing as spotted little Yugi running through the crowd. "Oh," she said fondly. "They really do look alike. They look like…"

"They could be twins," he said nodding.

She looked back at Yugi until he was lost from their view. She then turn to look back at him and said very seriously, "you know that we aren't allowed to help them."

"Maybe," he said slowly. "But that doesn't mean that we can't help them out… just until they find each other right?"

She gave him a wide smile. "That's exactly what I was thinking," she said.

Yami was still standing there with a dumb look on his face; trying to see where that woman had disappeared. She just vanished… like a shadow… or a ghost.

A ghost?! Did he really meet a ghost? He shuttered at the thought before turning and running away from where he was standing, he had to get away from that place before he really lost it. He just ran as far as fast as he could, despite how tired he has, and the number of people that were doing some last minute shopping.

After a while he collapsed underneath a large tree in the center of the village and just wanted to rest there for a few days. He sat under that tree trying to get his breath and heart rate to return to normal. People walked right past him, didn't even notice him, the only things on their minds were returning home. He just sat there as the sun sank lower… lower… lower… until finally it had gone. He sat there… in the dark… alone. (or so he thought)

The same man who had brought Yugi here was still watching him from the dark. "Don't worry, Yami," he said watching the young boy curl up and try to go to sleep. "You won't be alone for much longer. You're friend is waiting for you." He raised his hand, pointed it at Yami and began the spell.

The sun was almost completely gone for the day. Yugi was wondering if any of the villagers from his own village had noticed that he was gone and never coming back. Yugi realized that he hadn't eaten anything all day, and his stomach felt like it was starting to eat itself. He pulled out the a little bit of food that he brought with him from the village, and helped himself to a meal barely fit for a starving dog.

He had to be careful; he only brought with him enough food for 3 days, so he had to save every bit he had left. He made his way through the village trying to get his thought off the strange man who gave him a ride here. He kept trying to figure out how on earth the man had known his name for he was sure that he never told him.

Now that he thought about it… he never asked the man who he was. Now he really felt dumb. He tried to put it out of his mind while he wondered what to do now. He made the effort to run away so now he had to figure out what he will do now.

He didn't think this whole plan through all the way.

But anything was better than staying at his village. So he continued to walk forward trying to find a place to spend the night. Finally when only a little bit of the sun was left; he found a large boulder near the center of the marketplace. He curled up as close as he could to the giant rock and tried to get comfortable. He watched the sun going down and wondered what to do in the morning, he was just lost here. But he thought that he was doing alright for a 7 year old child. As soon as the last rays of gold and red have disappeared behind the horizon, the world was bathed in pitch darkness.

Yugi hugged his knees, trying to warm himself, and pulled a small, worn-out blanket out of his sack. He hoped that things would get better for him… and soon.

The same woman who had helped Yami was keeping watch over him from the shadows of the buildings. "Sweet child," she whispered. "Don't be discouraged, oh I know, it's hard to take courage in this world… and I see loneliness in your eyes. I will do whatever it takes to bring the two of you together." She raised her hand, pointed it at Yugi and chanted a spell.

Yami was wandering in strange forest. The trees were all bent and twisted; the ground was littered with sharp rocks and roots. His feet were all cut up and bleeding, but he kept on running. What he was running to he didn't know.

He didn't even know if he was running away from something… or towards something.

But he kept on going through this forest; it was so dark that he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. It was so dark, Yami thought for sure that it was a moonless night, he couldn't see anything but he somehow knew where to go. He kept on running even if he felt like he was being suffocated by the darkness surrounding him.

He ran on and on. But soon realized that someone or something was running right behind him; he couldn't see what it was and he didn't want to stop and see. Not that he could anyway.

At first, he thought that it was some kind of monster or beast that lived in this forest, but it didn't sound like it. It sounded tired and close to crying, but it still continued running after Yami… no not after Yami… right beside Yami. Whatever it was… it was running right next to Yami. Yami ran faster and faster, but the, whatever it was, kept up with him until suddenly it stopped. The sound of its breathing had stopped…

Yami stopped dead. He turned around trying to figure out what had happened. He took a few steps forward, before feeling stupid. He had to keep going, he had to keep running. He turned to start running again, but before he could take a step he heard it. He wasn't just imagining it this time… it **was** crying that he heard. It was the crying of a young child.

The child had started to cry now… Yami understood… they didn't want to be alone in this forest any longer... Yami thought about every little thing that he talked about with that woman he met and he needed a friend now more than ever.

He turned back, slowly, and walked to where the crying was coming from, ready to run if he had to. "Hello?" he called softly. "Who are you?"

The crying stopped… then he heard a small voice, not any louder than he his own. "Yugi… who are you?"

It was a child… alone in this forest just like he was. "My name is Yami," he called slightly louder.

"Where are you?" Yugi called out, sounding close to tears, "I can't find you.."

Yami kept on walking towards where he thought he heard the voice coming from. He had to help this child. He didn't sound any older than he was and he didn't want to leave him here in this dark forest alone. "I'm right here," he said quietly. He stopped… and reached out his hand and…

… for a second, nothing happened… then a hand… not any bigger than his own… smaller than his really… took a hold of his hand and held it.

"I found you," said the voice. "I finally found you."

Suddenly a light had appeared right above where they were standing… just bright enough for them to be able to see each other's face. Yami blinked, and looked at the face of the child that was holding his hand… face like his… hair like his… like looking at his own reflection.

"Yugi…" he whispered.

"Yami…" whispered Yugi…

Yugi was wandering around, completely lost in a strange forest. The trees were all bent and twisted; the ground was littered with sharp rocks and roots. His small feet were all cut up and bleeding, but he kept on running. What he was running to he didn't know.

Running away from something… or towards something he didn't know. All he knew was that he had to keep running.

But as he kept on going through this forest; the darkness was pushing in on him. It was so dark; Yugi felt as though he was being choked, he couldn't see anything but he somehow knew where to go.

He kept on running. But noticed that was that someone or something was running right in front of him. He couldn't see who or what it was and he didn't want to stop and see. Not that he could anyway.

At first, he thought that it was some kind of monster or beast that lived in this forest, but it didn't sound like it. It sounded tired and close to crying, but it still continued to run onwards in front of Yugi… no not in front of Yugi… right beside Yugi Whatever it was… it was running right next to Yugi. Yugi ran faster and faster, and was able to keep up with it for a while until suddenly he stopped. He had tripped over a root or something and fell flat on his face.

He started to cry now… he didn't want to be alone any longer… he didn't want this pain deep inside him to stay. He wanted someone to stand here and hold out his hand to help him up, someone to comfort him and take care of him when he needed it… he needed a friend now more than ever.

"Hello?" called a voice softly. "Who are you?"

As soon as Yugi heard that voice he stopped crying… he needed to answer him. "Yugi… who are you?"

It was a child not much older than he was by the sound of it and… he was alone in this forest just like he was. "My name is Yami," the voice called slightly louder.

"Where are you?" Yugi called out, close to tears, "I can't find you."

Yugi heard footsteps coming closer and closer. "I'm right here," Yami said quietly. Yugi didn't even think… he just reached out his hand… and

… he took a hold of a hand, slightly bigger than his, and grasped it.

"I found you," said Yugi. "I finally found you."

Suddenly a light had appeared right above where they were standing… just bright enough for them to be able to see each other's face. Yugi blinked, and looked at the face of the child that was holding his hand… face like his… hair like his… like looking at his own reflection.

"Yugi…" Yami whispered.

"Yami…" whispered Yugi…

A blinding light came out of nowhere and… Yami sat up straight, staring around him… the sun was just starting to come up. Yami felt as though he had been punched in the stomach. For that second he felt… he didn't know what it was he felt… but it felt… warm. He felt as though all the pain in his life had vanished for a second as he held onto that boy's hand in the dream. He felt warm.

But what was it that he felt? What was it really? Why did he feel that way? And that dream…

_"What a dream…"_ he thought to himself. But… _"Was it a dream?"_ he asked himself. _"It felt so real."_ He was sitting exactly where he was, when he went to sleep, but he couldn't get that dream out of his mind. That boy that looked so much like himself… only he wasn't him…

What was that boy's name? Yugi… "Yugi…" whispered Yami quietly.

The man was watching Yami look around him, and he knew that Yami was trying to figure out if it was all just a dream.

"No, Yami," he said quietly. "It wasn't just a dream."

He and his friends were going to pull a stunt to get these two boys together a lot sooner than they excepted. He knew that they'll be scared out of their minds, and have no idea what will be going on… but he had to get them together as soon as possible. He watched the boy for a while until he heard Yami mutter to himself _"Yugi"_

"Yes, Yami," the man said. "Remember, Yugi, you will need him soon and he will need you."

A blinding light came out of nowhere and… Yugi sat up straight, staring around him… the sun was starting to come up and Yugi felt as though he had been punched in the stomach. For that second he felt… he didn't know what it was he felt… but it felt… safe. He felt as though all the loneliness in his life had vanished for a second as he held onto that boy's hand in the dream. He felt safe.

What was it that he felt? It had to be something right? And that dream…

_"What a dream…"_ he thought to himself. But… _"Was it a dream?"_ he asked himself. _"It felt so real."_ He was sitting exactly where he was, when he went to sleep, but he couldn't get that dream out of his mind. That boy that looked so much like himself… only he wasn't him…

What was that boy's name? Yami… "Yami…" whispered Yugi quietly.

A small smile was coming from the woman, who placed that dream into his mind, as she continued to watch him look around. He and little Yami were so alike you would have thought that they were the same person. The woman was watching Yugi look around him in a kind of daze, and she knew that Yugi was trying to figure out what happened.

"No, Yugi," she said gently. "It wasn't just a dream."

She and her friends were going to pull a stunt to get the boys together, today. She knew that they will be scared and have no idea what will be going on, but she had to get them together. She watched the boy for a while until he heard Yugi mutter to himself _"Yami?"_

"Yes, Yugi," the woman said.. "You're a fast learner. Remember, Yugi, you will need Yami soon and he will need you."

The sun had completely risen when Yami stood up, though he felt like curling up and crying himself to sleep. That dream had taken a toll on him emotionally and he never felt more alone than he did right now. But he knew he couldn't start crying now, he had to keep moving on… though his stomach disagreed with this plan.

He stood up and headed towards the market to see if he could find anything he could any spare change or something that he could use. He reached into the small pack he was carrying and pulled out an apple and a crust of bread and had a feeble breakfast.

When he reached the marketplace it was already filled with people talking, laughing, and shopping. He envied these people; able to shop and have fun with their families. Yami's mother died not long after he was born, and he didn't have any brothers or sisters; the only family he had was a demented father who he still couldn't understand hi s madness. His father's eyes…

They used to be so kind and good… now they were…

Yami shuddered. He didn't want to think about his father anymore. He just continued looking at all the stands and people. It was a large area with small booths filled with everything you could think of, some carried food, others carried clothes, some sold animals, and others sold every other thing that you could ever imagine. The grown-ups were all talking and shopping with each other, while the children laughed and played with their friends and the animals that were wandering around everywhere you looked.

It was so loud and crowded Yami was beginning to feel claustrophobic, as he made his way through the small village. He stopped by some of the stalls just to see what they were selling, and he also stopped to pet the goats or horses that were scattered everywhere. But he knew he had to think of something…

What was he going to do now? He had no more money left and nowhere else to go. He was just thinking that he might be able to go under apprentice to someone in this village when he heard someone yell.

"THERE HE IS!"

Yami jumped and started when he saw a few men came running towards him. Yami turn and started running as far and as fast as his little legs could go. He had no idea why these guys were chasing after him, but they sounded mad. He add a crazy idea of just stopping and asking what was their deal, but they were a lot bigger and a lot stronger than he was, and he had no intention of being caught.

So he ran through the crowd, trying to lose them, leaping over crates, bundles of rope, and animals. He kept on running through the market, but they were faster than he was; and they were closing in on him fast. He was starting to have trouble drawing breath; he knew he couldn't keep running for much longer. He turned to see if they were still after him, and… they weren't.

Suddenly, the men behind him had disappeared… just like that woman from yesterday. He stopped running… trying to catch his breath, and turn forward again to see…

The men had cut him off. They were right in front of him, and coming in fast.

Yugi got up from his hiding place behind the rock and headed to the marketplace, trying not to cry all the way there. That dream he had was so real… for the first time since his mommy and daddy died… he felt safe. That boy, from that dream, that looked so much like him, made him feel… safe. It was like he had someone to look after him again… for a second he didn't feel as though he was alone any longer. But as soon as he woke up… that feeling was gone. So trying not to cry he headed off to the marked to see if he could buy anything.

After awhile, he past all the stalls, he saw a large group of children playing together. He stopped to watch them for a while, trying to decide what to do… no one here knew who he or where he came from. He could go over and talk to those kids and see what they thought of them… maybe they would be…

But before he could do anything he heard yelling right behind him.

"I FOUND HIM!" yelled an angry man's voice. Yugi was so surprised that he knocked over a crate of fruit right beside him. He turned and saw a group of very angry looking men running towards him… and boy did they look mad. Yugi didn't even think about what he was doing, all he knew was that he had to run as far and as fast as he could go.

He took off, running this way and that, past people, stalls, animals, and crates full of who knows what. He slid past the kids that were all playing, he thought that they would yell at the men where he was heading, but instead they all cheering as though he was a hero.

He guessed that anyone who is on the run from grown-up is a hero to them. One of them had actually shouted, "You get them, kid." Yugi could feel a small smile on his lips as he ran past them.

He kept on running for what felt like forever to him, but finally he couldn't run another step. He stopped to rest; they had him. But when he turned to face them… they were nowhere in sight.

**"**Holy monkeys," he said to himself. They just vanished like the man from before did. Then he heard footsteps in running towards him again; the men had cut him off! He was dead!

Yami turned left down an alley, and past kids who all shouted, "Go! Go! Go!" when he ran past. He smiled at them before he turned left again and hid right behind a small hut. He didn't think that he could take another step, he just leaned against the hut and slid down it, taking in deep breaths and listening to his heart calm down.

For a few minutes he heard nothing but his own breathing… and then…

… he heard the sound of someone else's harsh breathing from right beside him. He turned his head excepting to see one of the men who had been chasing him and seeing…

Yugi got his second wind and ran off as soon as he saw the men again. He turned right, left, left, right again; running this way and that trying to get to some escape route. He had no idea why these guys were even coming after him, he didn't do anything. But he didn't want to wait around to find out.

He made another right and ran behind one of the many huts, hoping that he could at least catch his breath before he started running again. He ducked down behind some crates and hid there until he saw the men from the corner of his eye run past the hut.

_"They didn't see me,"_ he thought to himself. He leaned against the building, drawing in deep breaths, thinking fast about what he should do now. He couldn't stay here; it wasn't safe. But before he could think of how to get out of the village without being seen… he heard it… the sound of heavy breathing.

He was dead for sure this time. He turned to face the music and saw…

For a second both boys thought that they were looking into their reflections… neither boy had said a word…

For a second Yami thought that he was dreaming again… it couldn't be.

Yugi thought that he had really lost his mind this time… but… was it really?

If you haven't figured it out yet… Yugi and Yami had finally met each other… and were staring at each other as though they were looking at their own ghost.

To be continued……

**_This is the end of Chapter 2 and if you like the first two chapters so far then let me know if you want this story to continue. plz give me your honest opinion._**


	3. The Best Kind of Reflection

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 3-The Best Kind of Reflection

For a long time neither boy could say a single word. I think they both lost the ability to speak. They stared at each other, as though they were blind just seeing the world for the first time. Finally after what felt like an eternity Yami was able to speak.

"Yu… Yugi?" he croaked out.

Yugi nodded. Throat too tight to speak he was finally able to choke out one word, "Yami?"

Yami nodded, he felt light headed as he did, and it was him. The boy he saw in that dream, the boy Yugi that he helped to get up, and held his hand. The person who had help to warm his heart…

Yugi reached over and took a hold of Yami's hand. Was it really him? The boy that had helped him up from that freaky dream and made him feel safe… was it really him? Or was this another dream?

Yami didn't shy away from Yugi's touch, he certainly felt real enough, "Is it really, you?" he asked quietly. "Are you real?"

For a second Yami didn't say anything for a second, but then, "Yes, are you?"

Yugi nodded. "I take it, that the dream last night… wasn't just a dream?"

"I think it's safe to say, yes," replied Yami. He still couldn't believe that Yugi was real; but did they really meet before? It couldn't have been just a coincidence. Then suddenly something came into his mind.

"What did you do?" he asked Yugi, seriously. "Some men have been chasing me all over the village, thinking I was you."

"What did I do?!" yelped Yugi. "I didn't do anything. I just got to this village last night, and I was just shopping in the market when some men started chasing me. I thought that you might have done something and they thought that I was you."

Now Yami was really confused. "That's exactly what happened to me," he said. "But if I didn't do anything, and you didn't do anything then… why are these guys coming after us?"

But before Yugi could as much as shrug, they hear it. "I FOUND THEM!"

"GET THEM BOTH!"

Both boys whipped around and saw the men from the market coming towards them.

Yugi turned back to Yami and said, "You want to finish this later?" he asked.

"Yes, talk later, run now."

And they were off. Suddenly, two boys who didn't really belong anywhere, where both running side by side, away from the men of the village and trying to escape with their hides still intact. The still had no idea why they were even chasing them; as far as they were knew, they didn't do anything to cause all this. But they didn't stop to talk about it.

Both boys ran together, until finally they ran straight out of the village and along the dirt road as far away as they could go. Finally when they felt that they were far enough away from the village they both collapsed on the ground, not moving, just trying to catch their breath.

After a while they both finally had a chance to rest, and catch the air that they needed; but their legs were shaky, and felt as though they were beaten with clubs. But Yami was able to look up and see where they were.

They ran a far enough way from the village, so far in fact, that they could barely see it anymore. The men had just disappeared, and they were both alone on top of some hill, Yami turned to look at Yugi who was still trying to get his heart rate down to normal.

"It's ok, Yugi," gasped Yami. "We're safe now.. Those grown-ups are gone." But he realized that they couldn't stay here, it was far too dangerous. He learned the hard way that there were animals and beasts that roamed around these parts. They had to get away from here to someplace safer.

Yami looked around them, trying to find something to use as shelter… nothing. "Yugi," he said urgently. "We have to get away from here." He got up, which was a huge effort, in and of itself. He put his hands on Yugi's shoulders, trying to help him up, "Its, not safe here," he said.

Yugi groaned when he got up to his feet, "Can we walk? I don't want to run ever again," he said holding onto Yami. Yami smiled as he held him up, "Me neither."

He help Yugi walk as they made their way north, and for a while neither one said anything, until Yugi couldn't take the quiet any longer and asked, "So, what happened to those guys from the village?"

Yami urged Yugi onward before answering, "They just disappeared. I looked, but I couldn't see them anywhere." He could feel Yugi shutter, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's just that people keep disappearing on me lately," Yugi replied.

"What?" asked Yami.

"Well, it's kinda a long story," said Yugi.

"Well, we got time. I'll love to hear about it," said Yami while they continued walking.

"Well, it all started when I ran away…" He went on for a while, telling Yami everything that had happened yesterday, and what happened today. When he had finished, Yami stared off into the distance.

Yugi was worried that Yami thought about his story. He was worried that Yami thought that he was lying or something, but what he was really worried about was how comfortable he was with Yami. He didn't know the first thing about him, but he had a dream of Yami just last night, and today he met Yami.

This was just too weird… it was then that he was starting to feel something else… something that he never felt before…

"It's just like what happened to me," said a voice right next to him. That voice brought him back to earth.

"What?" said Yugi looking around.

"It's just like what happened to me," repeated Yami. "I met someone who helped me get to the village and then they just vanished." He started to explain to Yugi all about meeting the strange woman and how she just disappeared when they arrived at the village.

What he didn't know was that the two of them were being watched by the very people they were talking about.

The man and the woman were both watching them from a safe distance, near enough to keep a watch on them, but far enough away that the kids couldn't see them.

The women looked at the man as said, "You think that it was a little much? I mean having those men chase them?"

The man shook his head. "I was the only way that we could get them together without showing ourselves," he said. "Besides, we can only keep a watch on them for a little longer. After tonight, we can't help them anymore."

The woman nodded, "But, you think we can at least give them a safe place to rest 'til tomorrow?"

The man looked at her and smiled, "You are too nice for your own good," he said shaking his head.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked him narrowing her eyes at him.

He held up his hands, and answered, "I'm just saying that, you're a kind person."

The women looked back at him and said, "Can you blame me? I have to be kind, but tough at the same time. Women are proven to have twice the chance to end up depressed as men are. That's because they have to live with men." The man laughed at that remark.

"That's true," he said. "But whoever you are, it is your friends that make your world."

She smiled. "That's true," she said. "A friend is someone who will reach out for your hand...and can touch your heart. One loyal friend is worth ten thousand servants and you know… I wouldn't trade that person for anything."

He nodded in agreement before turning his attention back to the two, small boys making their way across the fields. He was worried about letting two boys wander around on their own like this… maybe he will help give them a safe place for the night. After tonight, they weren't allowed to help any longer. Watching the two walk away reminded him of years, long forgotten. "Your friends will know you better the first time you meet, than people you know you in a thousand years," he said to himself.

"Just like the way a sibling may not always be your friend, but a friend is always your sibling," said a voice next to him. "What are you thinking about?" she asked him.

"Just thinking about how lucky I am to know someone who was so hard to say goodbye to," he said looking back at her.

"Oh, aren't you sweet," she said rolling her eyes. "Let's go. They need a safe place for the night. It is the least we can do after having them being chased."

Yami and Yugi continued their long walk along the dirt road together; Yami just finished explaining about the woman who had helped him.

"You see?" he asked Yugi when he had finished. "I just turned around… and she was gone. Vanished in thin air.

"I do see," said Yugi. "Are you sure that's what she said?"

"Yes, she said to me, _"An old friend is the best kind of reflection."_

"That's exactly what that man said to me, he also said that, _"Remember that every good friend was once a stranger."_ I just never thought he meant that so much," said Yugi looking Yami up and down. It was still strange looking at Yami; it was like looking at a older version of himself.

Yami laughed at that. "Tell, me about it," he said. Yugi looked like a younger version of himself, but that wasn't the only thing that was strange. This feeling… deep inside him… he never felt it before… it was…

"Hey," said Yugi. "Where do you come from?"

Yami stopped walking; he looked down at his feet and didn't answer. "I'm sorry," said Yugi sounding worried. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's totally up to you."

"No," said Yami. "It's just that… sometimes I feel like I'm a stranger to myself. Sometimes I can't believe I'm the same person I always was."

Yugi looked confused so Yami went on, "I mean, a lots happened to me lately, and I've changed a lot since I left home. Sometimes I don't know where to begin."

"Well," said Yugi slowly. "How about the beginning?"

Yami was quiet for a second before he was able to answer. Why he answered Yugi, he didn't know; but somehow, without him realizing it, it felt so natural having Yugi around.

"Well, I lost my mother not long after I was born. At least that's what my father said," said Yami not looking Yugi.

Yugi looked at the ground and muttered, "I'm sorry. But if it makes you feel better, I don't have a mother or father either."

Yami looked up at Yugi quickly. "I lost both of my parents during a plague a few years ago. I've been on my own ever since. I try not to think about it, but sometimes it gets to hard… you know." He looked at Yami in the eye and asked,"Am I talking to much? You know the people from my village were always telling me to be quiet."

"No," said Yami in a quiet voice. "I don't mind if you talk, this is the most I've talked in a long time. Traveling around on your own gets like that."

So Yugi went on about his life in the village and what he would do just to past the day, and everything he had done up to the point when he ran away from home. And Yami explained what he had up too when he ran away, the villages he stopped by, the things and animals he had seen, and everything else he could, but he never told Yugi why he ran off or where he really came from.

They continued talking up a storm, while they walked on, suddenly both boys realized at the same time something…

"You know," said Yugi, "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun, if ever."

As soon as he had said that, they both looked at each other and… laughed. They just laughed and laughed as they walked on, they were having fun. They continued on their way, along the dirt road, through the tall grass, and past the occasional trees, trying to find a safe place to rest. The sun had gone from right above their heads and was slowly starting to lower itself from the sky.

Suddenly a deep growl had come out of nowhere, and both boys put their hands around their stomachs, they hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and now they were paying the price. Yugi reached into his bag and pulled out a couple of apples and handed one of them to Yami. He insisted when Yami tried to refuse it.

"Go ahead," said Yugi smiling holding out the apple. "You did say that you were starting to run kinda low of food. And… isn't this what… friends do?"

Yami started at Yugi as though he sprouted horns or something. Friends? Was Yugi his friend? Were they friends? Then all of a sudden he thought of something… that feeling he had before… was that what it was? Friendship? Yes, he was sure of it.

He smiled as he took the apple from Yugi, "Yes, we are."

When Yami took the apple and said those three little words, Yugi felt as though he was about to break down. He had done it… he had made a friend… whether or not he was a true friend… whether or not Yugi himself was capable of being a true friend was still uncertain… all that matters is that, for the moment, he was no longer alone.

"It looks like they're getting alone pretty well," she said looking at her friend. "I guess it's true, a real friend will feel more comfortable to you the first time you meet, than people you've met for a thousand years."

The man didn't say anything while he watched the two boys laughing together. It was strange, they only just met but they were acting as though they have been friends for years. Watching them brought back so many memories… when he was their age, he didn't understand but now he did…a friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing... not healing, not curing... that is a friend who cares.

He felt someone take hold of his hand, and a voice say, "You left us again." He looked over at his friend,

"What's wrong?" she asked. "It's not unlike you to act strange, but you're acting stranger than usual."

He sighed heavily. "It's just that I feel badly for those two," he said pointing at them. "The task that's before them isn't an easy one. They're just children; they shouldn't have to do this."

The woman sighed, "I know. But we don't have a choice, all we can do is keep a close eye on them until tomorrow… once the sun comes up, they'll be on their own."

She didn't say anything for a second while watching them laugh and eat those apples; "Well… maybe they're not completely on their own. After all, before this adventure of theirs is over; there will come a point when they will realize who really matters, who never did, and who always will."

"Our relatives are the family that we are born with; our friends are the family we choose," the man said more to himself that to her. "But they are still so young, and they both have much to learn before they can complete their jobs here. It's more than enough for any full-grown warrior, much less two innocent children."

She smiled sadly, "Yes, but they will reach the safe house we have set up for them very soon. Its not much but it has some food, and supplies. And the spells we put on it will keep them safe from anything… at least 'til the sun rises."

The man nodded a little absentmindedly.

"You know you have a big heart," the woman said. When the man turn to look at her in surprise she said, "If I didn't know you so well, I Never would have guessed it. If I didn't know how badly your own heart had been wounded.. I didn't know how I could help heal it. Even with magic, there are something's that cannot be healed. Even though there wasn't much that I could do, but I did share an hour with you, and I did share a joke with you....before we left on our own journey."

He then squeezed her hand very tightly for half a second, "That was enough; just knowing that you were by my side… I'm always going to be grateful for that. An ordinary friend will try to mend your heart once it's been wounded and poured out. A true friend will try to refill it as well."

The boys continued to walk, though by this point they were so tired they felt like they were about to collapsed. They were still worn out from all the running they did earlier, the sun was getting lower in the sky, and they were getting hungry again.

"Yami," said Yugi tiredly. "Can we take a break soon?"

Yami didn't blame Yugi for being tired, they have been walking and running all day, and his feet were really sore by this point. "Soon," he answered. They did need to rest soon, but it had to be somewhere safe for the night. Yami didn't know when they would reach the next village, and there weren't many places to rest out here. He began to really search the area around them; trying to find something they could use as shelter.

They kept on walking until Yugi got slower and slower, dragging his feet, and starting to doze off; Yami had to find something soon. Just when he was beginning to think that they were out of luck… he spotted it.

"Yugi! Look!" he yelled, snapping Yugi out of his doze. Yami had pointed ahead of them, where the tall grass had turned into a forest. Those tall trees would be perfect for shelter, and there should be berries and roots that they could pick for dinner. And there was bound to be water around somewhere for them to drink, they were both dying of thirst.

The boys suddenly got a second wind and took off running among the trees and shrubs as they laughed and enjoyed the shade. They hiked along an unmarked, steep trail that climbed up the side of small gorge, the trail was steep, but they do not have to ever actually climb. Eventually the trail leveled out and they then walked along a cobble stone path, which came to a small clearing ahead; in the distance they could hear a waterfall. As they walked along the path leading to the sound of that waterfall, the air became warm and the air felt refreshing on their faces,

They trooped through the forest trying to find a place to rest and after walking a few more yards they found the most beautiful place that either of them had saw. Saying they were amazed would be an understatement.

It was a small waterfall… This was on the left hand side of a gorge, facing upstream it is broken up into a number of segments. The bedrock here is tilted back against the flow of the river, creating many obstacles for the water to overcome. The waters, beautifully, cascaded down to become a small stream, which free falls, and falls below into a wide spring beneath' this small, gently sloped fall is at most 10 feet high, but in the spring beneath the falls must have been 100 feet wide.

The gentle murmur of rushing waters serenades the tranquil forest, the tall trees were a towering acre of green and brown wood, while the water was tinted a clear blue. As the waters in the spring flowed from the falls, it was continuously shaping, changing.

They made their way closer to the waterfall, with their mouths opened wide; when they did get closer to the water they saw it sparkled in the remaining light. Yugi went and dipped his hand in the spring and they both watched the gentle ripples. While Yugi knelt beside the spring, Yami went nearer to the falls, the waterfall splashed upon his skin when he got close enough. When he closed his eyes, he felt so rejuvenated like a giant weight was taken off his shoulders.

At the water's edge, Yugi felt a strong sense of peacefulness come to him; it was such a beautiful and majestic sight to see that he closed his eyes, basking in the sunshine's beauty and wonder. He's senses never felt so alive and with the gentle sights and sounds of the day he listened to the quietness of the soft waves ebbing and flowing.

Yami felt himself let go of his cares and worries, even for awhile, for the first time in his life he was taking time to reflect… time to let himself unwind from stresses and worries.

After they finally got over the shock of seeing something so beautiful, they finally looked around to see bushes full of berries, fruit and roots were all round them, they also were able to catch some of the fish that were swimming around in the spring. For once, dinner was not a problem and for the first time, in what felt like an eternity, they both had full stomachs.

Yami told Yugi to go and collect some wood for a fire, while he started to collect some fruit, and everything he could see. When Yugi had got back, Yami had caught some fish with his bare hands, and Yami also showed Yugi how to make a fire with two rocks.

As Yugi was watched Yami start the fire, something crossed Yugi's mind. _"You're still young. It might take a while for you to find a real friend. But just remember, kid, the greatest gift is not found in a castle nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends." _It was the words that the man had told him.

_"Listen, kid, it's hard to really understand friendship unless you have one. You don't have too many friends, I take it?"_ Yugi didn't know why he was suddenly thinking about all this, but he thought that he was finally beginning to understand. All the words and advice that the man had giving him was crossing his mind; but what really got him was what he said the last time he saw him.

_"Remember, little Yugi. You will play a bigger part in all this, than you know. You won't be alone for much longer. You will have a true friend sooner than you think. So don't ever forget… Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light…. and that every friend begins as a stranger to you."_ How did he know? Was Yami the person he was talking about? He didn't know.

"Yugi, don't you want a fish?" asked Yami.

"What?" asked Yugi, coming back to earth, "Oh, oh yeah, thanks." He put it out of his mind while he and Yami talked during their meal of berries, roots, fruits, and fried fish; and they talked about everything that crossed their minds. They were having so much fun, laughing and talking, they didn't even notice that the sun was long gone, and it was getting late.

After a while Yami looked up at the sky and told Yugi that they should go to sleep, so that they can decide what they'll do in the morning. Yugi was still tried from this morning so he didn't put too much of a fight, he was dozing off before Yami had suggested it anyway. There was a large patch of soft, green moss a little ways away so after they put out the fire, they crawled over to the moss and flopped down.

Yugi had fallen asleep, almost as soon as he closed his eyes, but Yami stayed up for a minute. He watched Yugi sleep for a moment before he remembered that Yugi had a blanket in his bag. So he quietly pulled out the worn-out blanket and covered Yugi with it.

After he made sure that Yugi was covered, he suddenly remembered what that woman had said to him, _"You will play a bigger part in all this, than you know. You will have a true friend sooner than you think. So don't ever forget… Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light…. and that every friend begins as a stranger to you."_

You will have a true friend sooner than you think. Was she talking about Yugi? Did she know about Yugi? Wait…

… was she, or that man that Yugi talked about,… were they the one's that had those men chase after them in the village? Where they the ones who brought them together? When he looked down at Yugi's sleeping face, he could feel a small smile on his face. If it was those 2 that caused those men to chase them he was glad. He lay down next to Yugi and felt himself dozing off; all this time… he'd been alone. That night… he realized something… whoever you are, it **is** your friends that make your world.

The wind blew gently, ruffling their hair, and before he faded into the dream world… his last thoughts were… "I'm… not alone anymore."

"Oh, isn't that the sweetest thing you ever saw?" she whispered watching the two boys fall asleep.

"I'm glad that they made it to this safe haven," he said. "This is the least that we can do for them. But remember, when the sun rises, we cannot help them anymore. They will be on their own."

She let out a sad sigh, "I know, but at least we can protect them for tonight at least. But between you and me… I think that as long as they have each other… I don't think that they'll need our protection."

The man smiled at that remark, "For kids who never had friends before… the sure are becoming friends fast."

"Are you really surprised?" she asked him. "They are children, and children need children to become their friends. And then those friends will become great friends, and the truly great friends are the ones hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget. And those friends will be the ones who say, _"I will be there for you when you need me."_

"That's true," the man said. "But I think that the words that escape that friend's mouth maybe _"I'll be there when you say you need me"_ but the words that are unheard from that friend's heart are "I'll be there... whether you say you need me or not… especially when the tears come."

She felt a tear come to her own eye when he said that, "For someone who claims not to be a poet; you have a way with words." She looked at him and said, "But you are right, a simple friend has never seen you cry. A real friend however… has shoulders soggy from your tears." She took a hold of his hand and they watched the two sleeping boys through the night.

This will be the last time that they will see those two for a long time; as soon as the sun raises… she and her friend will be gone… but she had faith in them. She knew that a long and difficult journey was ahead of those two… but she just knew from the very bottom of her heart… they will come through fine.

As the man watched them he thought to himself… _"We will meet again my young friends. We can no longer help you from this point onwards… but I know that you can do this… as long as you both stick together. The fate of this world rests on the journey you will take… starting tomorrow. Farewell."_ The two of them turned… and as though they were never there… they disappeared into the darkness of the forest.


	4. The Storm

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 4-The Storm

Sunlight hitting his face was what woke Yugi in the morning; he blinked a few times when he finally opened his eyes and looked around; when he sat up, his blanket fell off. He didn't have it when he went to sleep… so how did…?

It was then that he heard soft breathing from right beside him; when he looked around, he saw the source of the breathing and he understood. Yami was still sleeping right beside Yugi; Yugi smiled as he watched Yami sleep on, and he knew that Yami was the one who covered him up. He felt choked up at that; he wasn't used to having someone look after or even care about him… not since mommy and daddy left anyway.

He watched Yami sleep on for a while and he noticed that Yami looked a lot different, Yugi knew that Yami acted a lot older than he was, but right now… he looked like just a child. Yugi watched Yami sleep for another second before taking off the blanket and carefully covered Yami with it. He got up and went to get breakfast ready.

He wandered around the waterfall collecting fruit and berries, he didn't like roots all that much, and he got a fire going by doing everything that Yami did last night. He also pulled out the remaining bread he brought with him out for an extra treat; they had to eat it before it got stale anyway. He also tried to catch some fish with his bare hands like Yami did last night, but ending up falling in the water instead.

The splashing was what woke Yami up; he sat up rubbing his tired eyes and looked around. When he saw Yugi sitting in the water, it took everything he had not to start laughing. He just stood up and walked over to Yugi and held out a hand. Yugi, looking really embarrassed, muttered a thank you and allowed Yami to help him up.

"Here," said Yami, still smiling as he walked a little deeper into the spring. "This is how you catch a fish."

After Yami had shown Yugi the right way to catch a fish, they sat down to have breakfast; and for two days in a row they had full stomachs. After they ate; they stretched out on the ground and listened to the waterfall flow downstream.

For a while, neither of the spoke, until finally Yami sat up to look Yugi full in the face and asked him, "So Yugi. What are we going to do now?"

Yugi was dreading the time that Yami would ask him that. The truth was, Yugi didn't want to leave this small stretch of paradise, but he also knew that they couldn't stay here forever. He honestly didn't know what to do. He was still tired from yesterday and he didn't like the idea of walking to the next village, "I don't know, Yami," was Yugi's answer. "What do you think we should do?"

He felt bad for leaving all this up to Yami, but he didn't want to be the one to make the decision here; he was also surprised at how important Yami's opinions were to him all of a sudden. And they only met yesterday! Although Yami had been traveling around on his own a lot longer that Yugi had so whatever Yami thought would be the best choice… he would go with it.

Yami looked back to the waterfall for a second, as though hoping for the right answer to suddenly come to him. He wanted to stay here… for a while anyway. He was tired of traveling around and was glad for a break for a change.. He was also surprised at how important Yugi's opinions were to him, even though they only meet a day ago, but Yugi lived on his own for almost two years, so he wanted Yugi to choose what to do here.

But Yugi seemed so keen to make Yami the leader, so Yami decided that he would take charge for awhile. The problem was that he knew that they couldn't stay at this spring forever and eventually they would run out of food or something, but he also knew that they were in no shape to travel right now…

"I think…" said Yami after a minute of watching the waterfall. "I think that we should stay here for a few more days, and once we packed up food and rested then we should leave."

Yugi sighed a breath of relief; he had been hoping that Yami was going to say that. "So what do we do now?" he asked.

Yami looked back at the water before turning back to Yugi with a evil grin on his face, "I bet I can swim faster than you can."

That set the tone for the rest of the day.

(Later)

They spent the whole day laughing, swimming, hiking, eating, and playing. Neither boy could remember the last time when either of them had had such a fun time. And in no time at all the sun had begun to set behind the towering wood and the boys were lying on their backs, beside a roaring fire.

"Hey, Yami," gasped Yugi. "Let's do all this again tomorrow."

Yami laughed. "You don't need to ask me twice." They then reached for a fried fish and dug in.

They were still just little kids but they can't remember a time where they were both actually happy or even had fun. They never realized just what they were missing in their young lives until they finally had someone to dare to be themselves.

But as they sat around the fire and talked; storm clouds slowly started to roll in.

Suddenly a loud BOOM came completely out of nowhere and almost made the two boys jump right out of their skins. A thunderstorm was almost here.

Both of them jumped up, as though they were given electric shocks and grabbed their bags, and ran towards the waterfall. See, when they were playing earlier they accidentally found a small cave right behind the waterfall, and it would serve well as protection from the rain. They made their way all the way to the very back of the cave just as the rain started to come down; they both sat on the cold, hard floor.

"Just our luck, huh?" said Yami looking out at the pouring water with disappointment. Yugi just had to laugh at that remark, "At least we're dry here." They watched the rain fall for a while before Yami decided to ask Yugi something that had been bothering him for a while.

"Ah, Yugi?" he asked timidly. "Why did you run away from your village? I mean if you don't want to tell me… I mean that's ok, I shouldn't have asked at all." now Yami was really regretting asking him that because he just thought about how he would feel if he was asked that.

Yugi shook his head,"its ok Yami," he said sadly as he thought about how to answer him. "I grew up in a small village far away from here; after my mom and dad died I would spend my days just dreaming of what my life could be like if I just got the courage to leave.. Every day I thought of leaving, but I never did; I kept making excuses to stay… but thinking about it now… I realized that I was trying hard to reach out to the other villagers. But when I'd try to talk to any of them… it felt like no one would even listen to me; I wanted nothing more than to belong somewhere… but something kept telling me that I wasn't going to belong in that village… so I finally worked up the courage to leave."

Yami listened for awhile, he felt so bad for Yugi, and he wanted to tell him that everything was going to be alright now… but he knew that he couldn't promise that, he needed to change the subject. "Where do you feel like you belong?"

Yugi thought about that for a second and answered, "I want to see the ocean," he said.. "I know that it might sound dumb, I want to feel the warm breeze, sleep under a bright sun, and play in the rush of the ocean. But what I really want is to find out where I belong. For as long as I can remember I didn't belong anywhere… I never had a place to belong… and by the time I realized that… I was all alone."

For a long time neither of them could say a word, but Yami had to do something before this uncomfortable silence killed him, so he asked Yugi, "Is there another reason that you want to go to the ocean?"

Yugi smiled, "I'll tell you, just don't laugh, ok?" he said. "When my mother was alive she used to tell me all sorts of stories, my favorite was one about the wizard Merlin and the sorceress Morgan le Fay. She told me that they had a magic ship, one that could fly through the sky, like on the ocean. My mother said that, according to legend, it was last seen on the shores of an ocean. So I decided that one of these days go to the ocean and see if I can find it, and I'm going to sail it," said Yugi. "I'll be free to go where I want to. I know that it sounds dumb but…"

"No, no," said Yami excitedly. "I don't think that's dumb at all. I think that it sounds great!"

Yugi stared at him. He used to tell the villagers about his goal; but they always said that it was dumb… that he could never do it. That he would never leave the village. That had always ruined his dream, but here, right here, there was someone who said that it wasn't dumb, that they supported him. "_I guess the secret to friendship is being a good listener," _he thought to himself, and he vowed that if Yami ever needed someone to listen; he would always be there to listen to him, and support him in any way that he could.

Yami went on… "I mean life out on a magic ship? One that flies through the sky, having adventures, it sounds like the best." Yami's eyes went all glassy for a second while he thought about the magic ship, he then asked, "Think you can fly it on your own?"

The question startled Yugi, "Why do you ask?"

Yami shrugged, "I just thought that maybe you might need some help with the ship?"

Yugi couldn't believe his ears. Was Yami saying what he thought he was saying? "You want to come with me?" he asked in amazement.

Yami laughed at the look on Yugi's face, "Why not?" he asked. "I mean its not like we have anything else important to do right?"

Yugi could feel a wide smile grow on his face, "I can't believe it! Finally someone else who believes that the ship is real' well, if we do find it you can be captain." Yami shook his head, "Come on Yugi, it was your idea, if we do find it then you can be captain… and maybe I can try my hand at driving the ship?"

"No way, Yami," said Yugi feeling blush come into his face, there was no way he thought that he could actually be a captain. But before he could say that out loud Yami said, "If we find it then we'll decide who will be what."

They spent the next few hours talking about the ship and where they will go when they find it. They decided that they would go on adventures and find treasure… they want to be free and have fun. To never have to listen to anyone else ever again, to eat their fill every night, and see places that no one else has. It was very late by the time they stopped talking and they were about to pass out from the day's events..

Yugi went to one side of the cave and laid down, "We'll finish talking in the morning." Yami nodded as he lay down and shut his eyes.

"Thank you, Yami," thought Yugi. He wasn't alone anymore; he didn't have to worry anymore. He felt that as long as he had Yami by his side, then everything was going to be alright. One day they will find the enchanted ship and sail through the sky as if it were water. Yugi could hardly wait, of course he knew that they still had to find the ship first, and they were going to have one heck of an adventure trying to find it, but it was an adventure that Yugi would miss for the world.

If there was one thing that he learned in the last few days it's that that things change, and people change, but it doesn't mean you forget the past or try to cover it up. It simply means you move on and treasure the memories you have and will continue to have. And he looked forward to the future, even if that meant leaving this little haven. He had no idea where they were going next or what they were going to do… but they'll find out together.

When it hurts for him look back and if he gets scared to look ahead, he knew that he could always look beside him and his best, not to mention his only, friend there.

It was by chance that he and Yami met, but by choice that they became friends.

(Later that night)

Yugi didn't know how long he was asleep when he woke up after he had a terrible nightmare about his last time he saw his parents alive. But just as he woke up, scared out of his mind, a flash of lighting and the sound of thunder made him even more scared. He hated thunderstorms and on top of that, he hated the dark to boot.

At first, he didn't know what to do until he decided to go to Yami. For some odd reason whenever he was near him, he felt like nothing would harm him or scare him. He slowly got up and walked to Yami's side of the cave; as he made his way over another lighting bolt flashed through the sky, and he started to wimpier.

"What's wrong?" Yami said sitting up and looking at Yugi with his friendly eyes, the thunder woke him up as well. Yugi was too scared to say much when the thunder ran through the sky and echoed through the forest. Yami got up from where he was sleeping, came over to Yugi, and pulled him into a protective hug. That alone was enough to calm Yugi down. "It's okay Yugi," he said to him gently, "Everything will be okay as long as I'm here with."

When the lighting and thunder ran through the sky again and Yami felt Yugi hug him tight and he could feel a smile go through his lips. They both sat on the cave floor sitting side by side, as Yami tried to calm down the frighten boy. "Yugi," he started "I know this isn't just about the storm. Something else is bothering you; do you want to talk about it?" It was strange; this was probably the closest thing he ever had to a little brother, Yami quite like the idea of having someone else to look after.

It was strange, this was probably the closest thing he'll ever have to an older brother, not that he was complaining. He liked having someone looking after him."I-I had a nightmare about my parents," Yugi said, shaking. Yugi said it with a sob and Yami could feel his own heart going out to Yugi. He had similar nightmares like that himself from time to time.

"I know how you feel, Yugi." I said to him quietly, not looking at him, "But you are safe now Yugi. I promise NOTHING will hurt you ever again."

Yugi looked up at me with his violet eyes still wet with tears. "Do you really mean that Yami?" he asked. "Do you P- Promise?" Yami just smiled at him and gave him another hug. "I promise Yugi," he said, "You have my word I'll make sure that nothing will harm us ever. I promise that one day, things will get better for us. Someday we'll find that ship and sail away from this place; we'll find where we belong."

As Yami talked, he could feel Yugi calm down and start to doze off. He continued to talk about what they would do when they found that ship and the kind of places that they would go to until Yugi fell asleep right next to him. Yami then, very gently, laid Yugi back of the floor of the cave and once again covered him with the blanket.

Yami watched the sleeping boy move in his sleep.. It was funny seeing Yugi sleep, he looked like a child. He was a child, not any older than he was in fact… but he wasn't like any other child that Yami ever met. He looked so innocent and almost angel-like in his sleep. When he was awake, he still looked like a child, but his eyes told another story. They seem to hold a wisdom that reached far beyond his years.

The boy looked so peaceful in his sleep; he wasn't having any nightmares now. There were times when Yugi confuse Yami. Even after everything that he'd been through, it never cease to amaze him how Yugi could keep his pure aura. He had no idea why he took a likening to Yugi in such a short time, together... maybe because he realized that they were so much alike in many ways. But no matter what, he felt this… deep, protective feeling towards Yugi, who was already starting to feel like a family to him… at least more than his father ever did.

Someday he hoped to tell Yugi the truth about why he ran away… but he was afraid of what Yugi would think about him if he did.

"_Our relatives are the family that we are born with; our friends are the family we choose," _he thought to himself.

There was also something else that bothered Yami. What would become him and Yugi? Would they stay friends like this or go their own separate ways? Would they really find that flying ship? These thoughts filled his mind; he took great care to hide them from Yugi. The last thing he wanted to do was to worry Yugi about the future. They still had a long journey together before they came to that point and he wanted to treasure every minute that he had with each other.

It was funny how much this one, small boy had changed him so much in only a few days. Had it really only been a few days? Sometimes it felt like he knew Yugi his whole life. He used to be a cold, child who didn't have a single friend; there had been several times where he thought that he would be alone for the rest of his rest. But Yugi was changing all that. Yugi had somehow brought some warmth into Yami's cold heart and was showing him that he wasn't alone in the world…

He made Yami realize that friendship is the comfort that comes from knowing that even when you feel all alone, you aren't.

He just knew that he was supposed to be with Yugi… he couldn't explain how he knew, he just did. Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they are meant to be there; they serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or help you figure out who you are. He was able to talk to Yugi in a way that he never could to anyone else… especially his own father… _" friends will know you better the first time you meet than people you know you in a thousand years."_ He now understood what those words meant.

A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself someone who can reach out for your hand...and can touch your heart. He never wanted to forget it. And he won't. He made it his self-appointed duty to do whatever he could to protect his friend. I mean after all…

… It is by chance that they met, but by choice that they became friends. Once again he fell asleep right beside Yugi, and he then whispered quietly into Yugi's ear, _"__Don't walk in front of me, Yugi; I might not be able to follow. Don't walk behind me; I might not be able to lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend. That's all that I want._"

He realized that what that woman said was true… _"A good friend is hard to find, hard to lose, and impossible to forget..."_

(Somewhere not too far away)

Someone or rather something… was watching the two boys sleep with polite interest. The creature wasn't human, but wasn't a monster either; it watched these two boys, that look almost identical to each other, all day and play with each other. It watched them eat, and hike, and talked about a flying ship; it could also feel itself laugh along with them and caught up with their own feelings.

The creature liked to watch the boys having a good time; and it also knew that they were going to be leaving this place very soon. _"It's strange,"_ thought the creature as it watched them fall asleep..

The creature was a person who was unable to find its own place in the world. No, that's not the whole truth, it was once a person, now he was a creature that frighten humans, no matter how much it desired to do good and help others, the truth was… it was a creature that humans ran away from.

The creature, watched the children sleep through the night until the smaller one woke up from a loud bang of the storm. It watched him walk over to the taller one and sat down right beside him. It watched them talk to each other, until they both lay down and went off to dream land.

In the hearts of all humans, there is both good and evil, the two live together inside the same soul. Some humans become good and others become evil; it was the way of the world. Or at least that's what the creature had always thought. However it was most intrigued by these two small humans, especially the smaller one… what was his name? Yugi? That's it.

The creature was most interested in that young child, he is certainly a human being, just like his companion, and yet these two knew had only met a couple of days ago. These two were now willing to do anything for each other..

The creature knew that Yugi does have a kind and gentle heart, but surprisingly this creature could detect no trace of darkness or any kind of evil coming from the boy's heart. Only the most good hearted and pure of spirit could make it thus… _"Could there truly be such a person?"_ thought the creature. The creature decided to watch over these boys a little while longer.

To be continued…

**If you want to know if they ever find the flying ship, why Yami ran away, what will happen to them next, who those the man and the woman are who have been watching them… and what the creature is that is now watching over them… then keep on waiting for the next update soon.**


	5. The Legend of the Vanishing Isle

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 5-The Legend of the Vanishing Isle

The sky was so bright and sunny you never would have thought that a storm had ever happened. Yami got up and looked out from the cave to look at the sky; he knew that the time will come tomorrow. He left the cave to walk a few feet into the bright sunshine, and smelled the rich, raw air. He wasn't alone for long though, a few minutes later he heard Yugi's footsteps right behind him, walking toward him.

"Yugi?" he said uncertainly. "I say we ought to leave tomorrow. I was thinking that we spend today collecting food, firewood, water, and everything else we can carry." He didn't look at Yugi; he didn't want to see his expression.

"Great, let's get to work."

You could have knocked Yami over with a feather. He did not see that one coming. "You really mean it? I thought that you would want to stay for a while."

Yugi shrugged at that, "Well I know that we can't stay here forever. And the sooner we leave the sooner we can find that enchanted ship." He was excited, he wanted to find that ship as soon as possible and sail through the sky, like he always dreamt about. When his parents were alive, his mother always told him that he would be the one to find the ship... though he never believed her when she told him about the ultimate treasure.

He was still very young when she told him the story, but he remembered it clearly.

**(Flashback)**

4 year old, Yugi was being carried back to the hut by his father. (His father had the same hair as Yugi did, and he had his mother's face and eyes) he had helped his father collect firewood for the night and he was so tired, that his father had to carry him piggyback and the firewood in each hand. It was getting dark, and he could smell his mother cooking stew for their dinner, when they had arrived home his mother had welcomed them back with her smile and her amethyst eyes, shining.

After dinner, his mother had told him the story of Merlin and Morgan le Fay and the enchanted ship.

"A terrible war was fought for a power, beyond anything they had ever imagined," said his mother. "This power was greater than any magician and according to the legend, whoever had the strength to posses it, would have their destiny changed forever."

"What do you mean their destiny?" asked Yugi excitedly. His mother gave him a beautiful smile before continuing, "I mean that it has the power to turn the poor into kings, and making the weak strong. Cowards can become heroes, and the weakest of magic will become the most powerful of magicians. So people began to fight over the power.

Many kings and soldiers fought to gain control of it; however, many innocent people lost their lives over the fighting. So it was decided that the power would be hidden away, in a tower in the middle of the ocean. It was the great wizards, Merlin and Morgan le Fay who decided the power's fate.

They created a vanishing isle, an island in the middle of the ocean that disappeared and appeared only when someone came to claim it. They sealed the power away at the very, top of a tower on the vanishing isle and, as an extra protection; they put up a magical mist around the island so that only a chosen person can find it.

As you can imagine, the kings and people that fought for control of it were angry at the two wizards for locking the ultimate power away, far beyond their reach. They demanded that Merlin and Morgan release its power and give it to them. The wizards refused many times, but they were finally resorted to placing a curse upon the greedy. They were sealed into the magical mist surrounding the island itself, so instead of gaining the ultimate power, they would be cursed to guard it until the time that a chosen one would come and rightfully claim it."

"A chosen one?" asked Yugi confused. "Mommy, what do you mean?"

"Well, Merlin, himself, said that only a child who is completely pure of heart… will be able to see through the cursed mist. When that child see's through the mist then all the kings and soldiers that were sealed inside it would allow them to sail through. The legend goes like this:"

"In vain glory they arose,

Shouting challenges at the magic.

But prevail they did not. Their doom it was

To guard the power until time's end."

"So, Yugi, the only way that those cursed in that mist can become free is for a child to go to the vanishing isle and claim the power. And to this day, the power still waits on top of the tower, unable to give its gift to anyone."

"WOW," said Yugi in wonder. "Mommy, how does the child get to the vanishing isle? Where is it?"

His mother smiled at him again as she tucked him into the bed, "Well, Merlin and Morgan le Fay knew that someone special would arrive, someday, to claim the power. So they made it so that there is only one way for the right child to get to the isle. So do you know what they did?" she asked him.

When Yugi shook his head, his eyes as big as dinner plates, his mother whispered to him, "They used their powerful magic to create a ship. But not an ordinary one, no, this ship didn't sail upon the sea. It sailed through the sky."

Yugi gasped. A flying ship? It was the most amazing thing he ever heard.

"You see," continued his mother. "The hull of the ship was assembled a compact special construction of light and enchanted wood, it was made so that the wood would never rot. The stern is a superstructure that contains the Captain's cabin and the bridge, it also included other rooms that may also be located in the hull. The ships rudder wheel and the levers that control the hull weights and sails are located there.

The masts carried square sails consisting of panels of magical linen, which will never tear, and each sail can be spread or closed at a pull, like a blind. The ship was made for speed, not battle, so it was a narrow galley, and was incredibly fast, great for negotiating shallow waterways, essential when running from pursuit. Their chief notable design characteristic is a pear-shaped hull cross section, narrower at the main deck level, but broadening out considerably down to the waterline.

The Hull of the ship is split into two sections; the fore hull normally contains the crew sleeping quarters and a hold and the back which contains a cargo bay, food storage, galley, and the weights used to control the ships balance.

The most distinguishing feature of a sky ship is its bow. It was in the shape of a dragon, which was said to protect the ship in any kinds of weather, and it was also what gave the ship the power to fly..

They built this magic ship for children, and when that child finds it, all they have to do is tell the ship where they want to go… and it will take them there. However, to prevent just anyone from just taking the ship, the two wizards hid it far away."

Yugi sat up and asked his mother while he was jumping up and down on the bed, "Where? Where did they hide it?"

His mother held up her hands, and Yugi knew that she wouldn't tell him until he stops jumping. So he sat down on the bed and waited. When she was sure that Yugi was calm down she whispered softly,

"On the farthest shores,

Beyond the dagger rocks

And past the river of time...

Shrouded deep in a roiling mist...

The sacred ship sleeps: its name… Swiftflight

Who knows the Paths?

Children, alone, know the way."

"You see, Yugi?" she asked him when his mouth dropped. "The ships name… Swiftflight. It's the flying ship."

"Swiftflight," whispered Yugi in an amazed tone.

"But…" said his mother, "Merlin and Morgan le Fay also placed a curse on the vanishing isle. They made it so that only the right could make it to the top of the tower."

"What did they do, Mommy?" asked Yugi excitedly. "What kind of curse did they put on it?"

"Well here is how the legend goes," said his mother,

"Lo, Child, born from days unfold,

Oh, young, pure heart, free of any evil.

Know this: This tower

Challenges the sky,

Where the watcher; the true guardian,

He waits, for one with a pure heart.

Those without power,

Want it not.

Those with power,

Trust it not.

Those with sight,

Heed it not.

Destroy the illusion,

Cut through to the true path.

You must choose the right way, but not just for yourself,

Decide what is most important in the end."

Yugi stared at his mother in amazement. But he was confused by something, "Mommy," he said. "What does it mean? The watcher… the true guardian… who is he? And what does it mean, those without power, want it not? Those without power, want it not? Those with sight, heed it not? What does that all mean? And the last part… what was it?"

His mother shook her head, "I don't know, only the right child will know what it means… and even then… only at the right time… will they know. You see, it's a prophecy that Merlin and Morgan le Fay made many years ago, they made it so that only the right child will be able to fulfill it. And as to who the watcher is… the watcher is an ancient creature whose soul duty is to protect the ultimate power until the time came when someone with a pure, untainted heart will make a choice.

"What is that creature?" asked Yugi.

"Miasmador," replied his mother. "Miasmador is a dragon."

Yugi stared at her. A dragon? That was the true guardian of the power? Yugi was amazed, he always wanted to see a dragon… but now he really wanted to see the guardian.

His mother went on, "The child will be forced to make a decision… one that will decide their own fate… and the fate of someone close to them. They will make a decision; on top of that tower… they will decide what is most important to them."

"What is most important to them? What is that?" he asked.

"I don't know, little one," said his mother gently. "But I will tell you this," she then got very serious. "I know that you are the one to find that ship… I know that you will be the one to reach the vanishing isle… and I know that you will make the choice on top of that tower."

Yugi stared at his mother as though she lost her mind. "Me?" he asked her. "But… but you said only a person with a pure heart will be able to find the ship. And with the ship they will fly to the vanishing isle. I don't have a pure heart."

His mother shook her head; she then placed her hands on both sides of his face and looked at him long and hard.. "No, Yugi," she said so quietly that Yugi almost couldn't hear her. "You don't see yourself the way that I do. The way that I and your father see you… you have a pure and strong heart. Don't ever think otherwise."

Yugi tried to say something to her, but she interrupted. "Yugi, I know from the bottom of my heart, that you will be the one to find the ship… and once you do you will find your way to the isle. You will reach the top of the tower… and you will make that choice. And I know that you will make the right choice."

His mother then kissed the top of his head, forced him down on the bed and tucked him. She got up to leave when Yugi asked her, "Mommy?" she stopped to look back at her son. "If I really am the right child… then what makes you think that I'll make the right choice?"

She smiled at him, you could see the love in it, "Because, Yugi. You have a good heart… one that is pure… and I know that in the end you will make the right choice."

She then turned and left… leaving Yugi alone to think about what she had just told him. He thought about it for a long time… and wondered why his mother would tell him all that.

**(End of Flashback)**

Yugi stared ahead of him, completely lost in though. He never understood why his mother had thought that he was the right child. But if he ever did find that ship, he would go to the isle… but not for the power. He wanted to see the guardian.

He told Yami the story last night, during the storm.

**(Flashback to last night, after the Yugi told the story)**

"Miasmador?" asked Yami in wonder. "Boy, I give anything to see him."

"That's what I said," said Yugi. "I don't know if that story is true, but my mom sure believed it is. So that's one of the reasons I left the village… I'm trying to find that ship, so that I can find that vanishing isle and see the guardian."

"You really think that you're the right child," asked Yami curiously.

Yugi shook his head. "I don't know why my mother said I was, but I really don't think that I'm the right person. No I just want to find that ship and sail wherever I want to. Why?"

Yami shrugged and asked, "Do you think that your parents would have wanted you to go after it?"

Yugi sat in silence for a while before answering, "Mine- mine had already died before that. I told you that the plague took them both."

Yami went red, and put his head down. "I'm sorry. I keep forgetting. I never should have asked." Yugi shook his head." It's okay. It's been two years now.. After that, I lived on my own for a while, but it got lonely; I didn't want to come home to an empty house anymore, so I left. "

Now Yami felt really bad. "I'm sorry," he said again. Yugi looked at Yami full in the face, "You don't have to keep apologizing. Really, it's ok. I'm just glad that it's all in the past now. I'm not alone now… right?"

Yami smiled. "Yeah, neither of us has to be alone anymore. We'll find that ship, and then we'll head off towards the vanishing isle, and see the guardian real quick. I don't know about you but I don't think that we should get to chose to the guardian. After that… we'll be free. Free to go anywhere we want to."

Yugi nodded but something was bothering him. "Yami, it's not going to be easy. How do we know that we'll make it?"

Yami thought that over for a second before answering, "If I lean on you and you lean on me… then I think that we'll be okay."

**(End of Flashback)**

_"If I lean on you and you lean on me… then I think that we'll be okay."_

Those thoughts kept playing over and over and over again, in Yugi's head. What did Yami mean? He guessed that all he could do was to just trust Yami.

The two boys spent the rest of the day collecting all the food, herbs, and water they could. At the end of the day; they once again were sitting beside the fire, and talking about where they should go to.

"On the farthest shores,

Beyond the dagger rocks"

Yami thought for a long time about that line. "Well, the farthest shores are up north right?" he asked Yugi. When Yugi nodded Yami went on, "And the dagger rocks… that must mean that we have to go past some mountains." He then went on to the next few lines

And past the river of time...

Shrouded deep in a roiling mist...

The sacred ship sleeps: its name… Swiftflight

Who knows the Paths?

Children, alone, know the way."

He thought long and hard about that… "Well… I think that river of time is some kind of special river that we have to cross. And there is a lot of mist surrounding the area. Ok so I think that I got it. _'On the _farthest shores' means that we have to go up north, 'beyond the dagger rocks' must mean that we have to cross some sharp looking mountains…

And past the river of time...Shrouded deep in a roiling mist.... we need to past some kind of river, past a strong mist. And once we passed through all of that… we've found Swiftflight. At least I hope so."

Yugi was impressed. He never would have thought of all that, "So, the journey begins at dawn?" he asked.

Yami nodded. "Think about it? We'll find that ship and then everything will get better for us."

Not long after that, they lay down and covered themselves with the blanket, and waited for sleep to come to them.

"So," said Yugi. "You really think that we'll find the ship if we head north?"

"You bet," said Yami smiling. "It's sure better than wandering around with no place left to go."

"But…" said Yugi in a worried tone, "What if the ship isn't real or what if we go all that way and we don't find anything? What will we do then? It'll be all my fault."

Yami shook his head and put his arm around Yugi's shoulders, "I know that the ship is real," he said. "We will find it. And then everything will be ok… you'll see. And even if the ship isn't real, then it will be my fault also for thinking that we needed to go north." He looked at Yugi and said very seriously, "Let's make a promise, alright? We'll promise that no matter what happens we'll always look after each other. Deal?"

"Deal," said Yugi quietly. He finally understood what the man had said, just a few days ago. A true friend really _does_ want nothing more from you than the pleasure of your company. And even if the ship wasn't real… as long as he had someone here by his side; then he knew that they'll both be alright in the end.

They both went to sleep at the same time, and they were holding hands when they did finally stop talking about the journey ahead of them, and went to sleep.

**(The same creature from last night was watching them again)**

It had watched them all day talk about '_the guardian.' _

_"So, they were leaving in the morning? They were heading up north to find the ship Swiftflight?"_ it thought.

It let out a smile, finally after all these years; someone will find the ship and head to the vanishing isle. The creature knew that there was something special about those boys and it knew that they'll find their way to the ship.

The creature stretch and got up from where it was sitting, and took flight. It was heading home. After all if the boys wanted to see Miasmador so badly, he should be there to greet them.

To be continued…

**_Yes, the creature watching them is the guardian Miasmador. If you want to find out if they ever do find there way to the Swiftflight and to the vanishing isle then keep up with the story. If any of you have any ideas though about a really cool adventure or two they might see along the way then let me know._**


	6. The Adventure Begins

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 6-The Adventure Begins

Morning came all too soon for the boys as they awoke with the sunlight blaring onto their faces. They were both still tired from talking about their plans of what they would do once they find the Swiftflight, and a part of them were still a little reluctant of leaving the spring. But another part of them couldn't wait to leave and get to work finding adventures along the way. Today was the day that they would leave and start their next adventure. They were just finishing up packing their supplies.

Both boys were taking as much as they could carry; they had enough food to last a week at least… maybe ten days.

"Ready, Yugi?" asked Yami has he pulled a bag around his shoulders. Yugi just finished packing his own bag when Yami asked and called out, "Yeah, give me another second."

After Yugi had finished he joined Yami on the trail, they turned to get one last look at the spring. Yami couldn't help but feel safe here… like nothing could hurt them as long as they were there. But Yami knew that they couldn't stay forever… so after another long look; he turned to leave. But he noticed that Yugi was kneeling before a tree, carving something into the trunk.

"What are you doing, Yugi?" he asked in a surprised voice.

Yugi looked up sheepishly and said, in an embarrassed tone, "It's just that… I thought that... if we ever needed to come back someday. If we needed a safe place to stay… we could have this here, to remember," he ended like lamely.

Yami looked pass him to see the tree, Yugi was trying to carve something into the tree. Yami then picked up a sharp rock and carved the image of a ship onto the lower part of the trunk. "There," said Yami. "So the next time we come here, we'll remember the good times." He smiled at Yugi, who smiled back and together they left the spring, where the two of them had become friends… no, not just friends…

… they became a family.

**(1 year later)**

It's been one year since Yugi and Yami left the spring and a lot has happened since then. Thanks to each other, they both grew greatly along the way, and the bond between them has grown even stronger. The two 8 year old boys were still traveling together, and I got to say that they did they have some crazy adventures. But the point is that even after all that… they still haven't found the ship.

They did want to find that ship, but they also wanted to have some real adventures, which took up a lot of their time. They explored caves, forests, fields, unmarked trails, new villages, and everything else you could imagine. They were constantly traveling from place to place, never staying for more than a few days, they continued to head up north.

(And let me say that in the medieval times, it takes a long time to get anywhere)

The bond between them had gotten so strong, you could have sworn everything that you owned that they two of them were brothers. No, they were closer than brothers…

What they were I don't know. But after a year of traveling around together, they were willing to jump into hell for each other if they had to. The two of them had just arrived at a village somewhere in the north, and the weather had gotten a lot colder. They stopped in the market and bought themselves some new clothes and more food.

What's that? Where did they get the money? Well it turns out that even in the medieval times there were people that gambled with games. You know… those games they play in the streets to earn money? Turns out that both boys had a gift for winning those games and earning enough money for themselves, so money really wasn't an issue for them anymore.

Yugi finished buying some new shoes for himself when Yami came up from winning yet another game. "How did you do?" asked Yugi smiling when he saw Yami running up to him.

Yami held up a pouch of money and answered, "We've got dinner tonight." They both started to laugh as they wandered around the marketplace; they had money and were eating a lot more than they ever hoped to. They used to be so thin that you could see every rib in their bodies, and their stomachs felt like they were eating themselves.

After shopping they headed to a small inn for the night. But when they asked the innkeeper for a room she asked them, "Just the two of ye? Don't tell me ye all alone here."

They have gotten this before. Up north people get suspicious if they see a couple of kids on their own. Some even try to kidnap them for some cheap labor… or worse. Yami looked at her politely and said, "No, me and my twin brother here are waiting for our parents to arrive. We came up north with them to start trading before the snow arrives and they told us to go ahead and stay at this inn till tomorrow." They used this excuse a lot lately. Neither of them liked lying but it was safer for them this way.

The innkeeper looked at Yami to Yugi, and then back again. "Your twin brother? Fancy that," she said. "Hmm. But still, the pieces fit. I'll give you that much. And he does look like you." Yugi always felt a small bit of pride when people thought that him and Yami were brothers.

The lady thought it all over for a sec before leading them to a small room near the back of the inn. "Here you boys go," she said kindly. "You boys are welcome to stay the night. The bathrooms were located on the bottom floor near the back of the hovel and if you need anything then let me know."

They nodded, thanked her, and entered the room. It was a very small room; the floor was dirt and covered by a layer of reeds which provided some cushioning for their sore and tired feet. The ceiling had long beans and crossbeams made of a strong and light-colored wood. The wall spaces between the beans and crossbeams you could just see a thatch roof which had a warm musty smell to it.

In the middle of the room was were the hearth, and a low stone platform that held the cooking and heating fire, was. There was a smoke hole that was surrounded by stones, to make it less likely that sparks would set the roof on fire. There was only one window, which had wooden shutters, but it did have glass. There was also a wash basin on a low, wooden table in the corner and a bed against the wall; just opposite the window.

It was a small bed, with a mattress stuffed of hay, but it had the some of the softest blankets they ever saw. Yugi sighed as he flopped down on the bed and stretched out. "She was nice wasn't she?" he said to Yami. "And she bought the story quicker than most do."

Yami put his bag down and looked out the window at the village. It reminded him of the village he used to live in almost. Except it was a little bit more crowded then where he was from. But it was a peaceful village, a place that seemed like a fine place to live in to be honest. But they were just going to be passing through as they always were.

He then went over and flopped down on the bed right beside Yugi and closed his eyes. They've been traveling all day and were so tired they could hardly keep their eyes open. Yugi was so tried in fact that he fell asleep pretty fast. But Yami got up to rummage through their bags and started to get their dinner ready.

He wanted Yugi to get some sleep for a change. He always tried so hard to keep up with Yami, and do whatever he could to help out. It was hard, traveling around from place to place… after a year of… a year? Has it only been that long?

It was hard to believe that it had already been a year since they started out on their journey, and it was an experience that Yami wouldn't have traded for anything. But all this traveling was starting to take a toll on both of them.

However deep down in Yami's heart he could feel that they were getting close to the where the ship was legend to be. All they had to do was to go a little farther north and then they would be at the coast. Where they knew where Swiftflight was waiting for them. They would find it together, or not at all; after all they were the ivy and the wall.

It was a saying that they heard a couple of weeks after they left the spring. They were wandering around a small village when they heard an old couple talking to themselves.

**(Flashback)**

Yami and Yugi were walking through a village, it was still early and they had a lot of daylight left so they were planning on going on and stopping at the next village. As they were leaving the village, an old couple came walking along the road they were on. They both looked ancient with worn out clothes, and hoods over their heads. But they way they were talking to each other you never would have thought that they were old. As Yugi and Yami were passing they heard what they were saying to each other.

"So how come I'm the ivy?" asked the old woman. "Why are you the stone?"

"Oh, come on. You're a stubborn woman, just like the ivy is and I'm the stone because I'm never changing. But you always loved change," replied the old man.

The old woman thought that one over for a second before answering, "I hate to admit it but you're right. I really hate that."

As the couple walked right by the boys, Yami and Yugi turned to watch them continue walking. They didn't have a clue what they were talking about and listened to what they were saying.

"We'll stand together," said the old man as he put his arm around the woman's shoulders. "True friends, like ivy and the wall stand together and both together fall."

The old woman laughed as she put her arm around his shoulders and said, "Friendship is a treasured gift, and every time I talk with you I feel as if I'm getting richer and richer. I think about how lucky I am to know someone who was so hard to say goodbye to."

The old man started to cackle at that statement and answered back in a sing-song voice, "Real Friendship is the sharing of all that the heart holds inside, its tears and laughter, it's joy and broken dreams. Because friendship dwells in the heart where time and distance know boundaries, it understands the depth of true feelings and the sound of words unspoken. It is a true gift, for it connects the heart of friends together forever."

The old woman couldn't take it. She also started to cackle as they kicked up the road.

They both cackled as they continued down the road. The boys watched them, getting worried over the way they kept cackling as if they were witches. They continued to watch them until they couldn't hear a word they were saying anymore. However the last thing that they heard was the old man saying, "If you ask me my friend, there are three types of friends: those like food, without which you can't live; those like medicine, which you need occasionally; and those like an illness, which you never want.."

Both boys looked at each other in a worried way before Yugi said, "That was weird."

Yami smiled and they both continued on their journey and neither of them said anything for a while until Yugi said out-loud, more to himself than Yami, "True friends, like ivy and the wall stand together and both together fall?"

Yami looked at him in surprise. "I guess," he said. "If ivy grows on a wall, and the wall is knocked down they go down together. I guess that's what friends are for. If one goes down, then the other will be there right by it to lie down beside it."

"I guess," said Yugi. "If that's true then are you the wall?" Yami had to be the wall thought Yugi. Cause he had to be the strongest person Yugi ever met. He always stood his ground, but Yugi did have a habit of clinging to someone else like a vine would.

Yami smiled. "Alright," he said. "But then you have to be the ivy." Yugi was gentle, Yami thought to himself. But Yami also knew that he had the potential to go to the top. A vine is a stubborn thing, and once it's made up its mind, it's very difficult to remove it… just like Yugi.

"I can live with that. But tell me something, do you really think that what those two were saying is true?" asked Yugi his own smile fading. When Yami looked confused to what Yugi was talking about, Yugi went on, "I mean that real friendship is the sharing of all that the heart holds inside, its tears and laughter, it's joy and broken dreams. Because friendship dwells in the heart where time and distance know boundaries, it understands the depth of true feelings and the sound of words unspoken. It is a true gift, for it connects the heart of friends together forever."

"You remembered all that?" asked Yami amazed. "You have a good memory." He was trying to make Yugi smile again but when that didn't work he thought about what he said. For a little while he didn't say anything while they walked on. Finally after the village they were leaving from was far behind them Yami found an answer. "I don't know," he said simply. "But, I think that they were right about there being three types of friends. Those like food, without which you can't live; those like medicine, which you need occasionally; and those like an illness, which you never want. So I think that for now that's good enough for me."

Yugi nodded and then asked, "So if I'm like food… what kind am I?" Both boys laughed like that while they continued on their way… to where they didn't know.

**(End of Flashback)**

Yami turned to look at Yugi, who was still fast asleep. Like always he looked so peaceful while he was dreaming. He didn't know why he suddenly thought of the old couple and that conversation… it just came into his mind..

He thought of everything that the two of them had been through this last year, and how much they've both grown already. He watched Yugi sleep on for a while, and while he did he thought about that odd, couple again. _"Friendship is a treasured gift, and every time I talk with you I feel as if I'm getting richer and richer. I think about how lucky I am to know someone who was so hard to say goodbye to." _

Yami was so deep in thought; that he didn't realize just how much time had passed while he watched over Yugi. But the sleeping form was beginning to stir. Yami leapt up and went back to preparing dinner for them.

Yugi open his eyes and sat up. His dreams were pleasant. He looked around the small room and spotted Yami, "Oh," he said leaping out of bed. "Did I fall asleep?"

The spirit looked down at the boy. He smiled to himself. Yugi was always sweet when he first woke up. "Yes, Yugi. You must have been so tired. It's ok," he said. "Besides it was my turn to cook dinner tonight." Yugi got up and went over to the small water basin in the corner to wash his face and asked, "Have I been asleep long?"

"Don't know," said Yami truthfully. He honestly didn't know because he was so lost in thought. He was wondering about that saying over and over again.. "But did you have a good sleep?"

Yugi nodded. "Ya, I did." He tilted his head to the side, "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Yami chuckled at that. He smiled at his closest friend. The thoughts that he had came up, and it was then that he finally understood what they meant.

To him, his friendship with Yugi was more valuable than any treasure. To him it was treasured gift, and every time that he spoke with Yugi it felt as though he was the richest person alive. Richer than any king. This one boy had change him so much, he only wish that he could return the favor back to Yugi.

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Yami had been watching over him this whole time. Yugi thought to himself. He had no idea what he would have done if Yami wasn't here and the thought of him alone in the world again, scared him more than anything. He dreamt of that saying once again. And he knew that now that if you have two friends in your lifetime, then you're lucky. But if you have one good friend, like he had with Yami, then you're more than lucky.

He really was lucky to know someone who was so hard to say goodbye to.


	7. Fallen Ill

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 7-Fallen Ill

After the boys had their dinner and washed up, the sun had almost gone by this point. They both got into bed, and enjoyed a soft bed for once.

"So," said Yugi. "We leave first thing tomorrow?"

"After we have breakfast and go to the market. And then we start heading north."

"Good. I wonder how much longer it'll be now," Yugi said more to himself than to Yami.

"I've been wondering that for a while, but if this keeps up then it shouldn't be too much longer until we get to the northern shores."

"That's good," said Yugi. "To tell you the truth… I was starting to get a little tired of just wandering around in the middle of nowhere." Suddenly Yugi started to cough.

Yami sat up, "You ok?" he asked concerned.

Yugi couldn't answer; he just kept on coughing up a storm. Yami had to get up and get him a cup of water. After a minute Yugi was able to stop coughing and was able to lay down; his face started looking a little red. Yami put his hand over Yugi's forehead, "You have a fever."

Yugi shook his head, "No, I'm alright. I just need to sleep that's all. I'll be fine in the morning; you'll see."

Yami didn't believe him but he didn't want to argue if he didn't feel well. He let it go and stayed awake until he was positive that Yugi had fallen asleep. He took out the old blanket and covered Yugi with it… hoping that Yugi was right and that he would recover by morning.

In fact he was so worried that he stayed up almost the whole night watching over him.

* * *

Yugi didn't have a good night either.

He was dreaming of the last time he saw his parents…

He was watching his mother tending to their little vegetable garden in the back; she was showing him how to tell when the vegetables were ripe enough to be picked.

(Cough, cough)

"Mommy," said Yugi worriedly. "Are you ok?" his mother started to cough very violently.

His mother nodded. "I'm fine Yugi," she said. "I just need to rest now. Why don't you go and find your father?"

Yugi nodded as he stood up and went off into the village to see where hi s father had gone. He wandered around the village for a few hours and couldn't find him; in fact he couldn't find anyone. Everyone was locked inside their houses, and from what Yugi knew, they were all sick.

When he knew that his father wasn't in the village he decided to head home, the thought that his father had returned home while he was gone. As he made his way home… he could feel a kind of chill in the air. Yugi couldn't understand why… it was a very warm night… and yet he could feel shivers going down his spine. He had an uneasy feeling that he couldn't shake off.

He didn't know why… but he knew that he had to get home. He then took off running towards the running towards the house. He was afraid… for what? He didn't know. He just knew without the shadow of a doubt that he had to get home to find his mother and father.

When he finally got home he looked around. His mother wasn't kneeling at the garden where he last saw her and still no sign of his father.

He walked slowly up to the front door… "Mommy?" he said quietly. "Daddy? Are you there?"

No answer. Nobody answered him… he felt hot… and then cold. And a terrible ache in his heart… as though something was squeezing it very tightly. "Mommy? Daddy?" he called out a little louder.

Still he got no answer. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and very slowly walked into his house. And what he saw would haunt him until his own dying day. Both his mother and father were lying on the floor… eyes opened… mouths agape. A disgusting, rotting smell was starting to emanate from their bodies… the plague had taken away his family.

Yugi stood there completely frozen in horror… and he then let out a terrible scream. A scream that echoed with his fear … his sorrow… his pain, a scream that not even he could imagine how horrible it could be; while he was screaming… someone was shaking him.

Someone was calling his name… telling him to wake up.

* * *

Yami couldn't sleep knowing that Yugi was sick. He was so worried about him that he just couldn't seem to close his eyes. He sat up and watched him through the night… although once the sun had begun to rise; Yami could feel his eyelids droop.

He didn't even notice that he started to doze off; although he woke up with a start as soon as he heard the screaming.

He fell right out of his seat and leapt up as though he was given an electric shock. Yugi was screaming in his sleep as though he was being tortured. He was tossing in his sleep, and screaming such a terrible scream that it frightened Yami.

Before Yugi could wake up the whole village, Yami had grabbed a hold on him and started to shake him. "YUGI! YUGI WAKE UP! IT'S A DREAM! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP YUGI!"

Yugi's eyes snapped open. His screaming died down almost instantly. He sat up, drenched in sweat… gasping for breath as though he had just run a marathon. He was scared… really scared. When Yami, very carefully and gently touched Yugi's shoulder, Yugi jumped away and stared at Yami as though he didn't recognize him.

When Yugi looked at Yami what he saw… scared him almost as much as the dream had. Yami was ghostly pale, and looked as though he had the nightmare instead of Yugi. Yami was scared. Yugi never thought that was possible. At first he couldn't understand why he looked that way… until it hit him like a bolt from the blue. Yugi had scared him… made him worry.

"Yugi, are you ok?" asked Yami in a petrified tone. Yami wouldn't be surprised if Yugi had woken every person in the village.

Yugi couldn't speak, he just nodded. "It was a… just a… a nightmare." He then reached over and held onto Yami as though he was a lifeline. He buried his face against Yami's chest and let the tears that he had been holding back since that day.

Tears fell down as Yami held him against his chest and gave him words of comfort. Even as people came bursting through the door demanding to know what the screaming was all about. Yugi didn't even bother to hear what Yami was telling them, though he sure sounded angry at them.

After awhile Yugi's crying had turned to sobbing, this soon turned to weeping, and then finally deep gasping. Yugi's head felt like it was about to explode and he just leaned against Yami as his eyelids drooped and he fell back into a deep slumber.

Yami held him there for a long time, just letting Yugi sleep off this sickness. He could feel that Yugi was burning up. So he just held him and let him sleep… for as long as he wanted.

**(Later)**

Yugi slept on and on… for the rest of the day in fact. His fever was getting worse and he just seemed so tense… even when he slept… Yami could feel him shaking.

Whatever Yugi's dream was about… it really did a number on Yugi. Not just Yugi though, Yami also. He was so worried about Yugi, but what really kills him is that he doesn't know how to help him. He wasn't good at stuff like this, and Yugi's condition was starting to get worst, and the worst part is that they couldn't stay here anymore.

The other guest and the innkeeper all came barging in demanding to know what the screaming was all about. Yami told him that his younger brother was having nightmares, but when they wouldn't leave, he told them off. The innkeeper then demanded that she meet their parents when they come to pick them up.

Of course, they had to get out as soon as they can, they can't stay here anymore. He then packed everything and anything into their bags and tied them over his shoulders. Then with a great effort he was able to pull Yugi onto his back.

Yugi was so small, thin, and light that it wasn't too much trouble for Yami to pick him up. Though he didn't know for how long.

But he had a plan… he knew that there was someone who lived around these parts who might be able to help them. She was the daughter of an old friend of his father's and she was gifted in the art of healing. So if there was anyone out there who would be willing to help… it was her. The problem was he had to get Yugi to her.

So he was able to get him and Yugi through the small window, and down to the ground, with a great deal of difficultly. Yugi was still out cold, but his fever was getting hotter and hotter. He was sick, really sick.

Yami had to get Yugi there as soon as possible. He walked a little ways away before, a stroke of luck; he saw a wagon leaving the village. He ran behind the cart and was able to sneak aboard without the young driver noticing anything. In the wagon were barrels full of wheat and grains so it was easy for two small boys to hide in.

The wagon was heading north, to where they might find the doctor that they were looking for. Yami just looked at Yugi's face with sadness and covered him with the blanket… and continued to watch over him. Hoping that Yugi would get better as soon as possible.

**(Much, much later when they finally reached up north)**

Yami must have finally fallen asleep because the next thing that he knew was that it was very late and very dark. He sat up and looked around, his eyes getting use to the sudden darkness. Yugi was still fast asleep, right beside him; the only problem was… he didn't get any better…

… he had gotten even worse.

He looked around him in a panic, hoping against hope that he would recognize where they were and where her home is… and to his relief he did.

They were only a couple miles west from where she lived, however they were started to head in the opposite direction. So Yami grabbed ahold of Yugi and their bags and jumped, more like fall, off the wagon. After a few minutes of struggling; Yami was able to get back to his feet and walked a few feet away before he realized that he couldn't carry Yugi and their bags the whole way to her house.

He very gently laid Yugi down and looked around in the surround darkness, when he spotted the perfect place. At the base of an old, widow tree was a deep hole, so he stashed their supplies down there for now. He would come back for them later. However he kept the blanket. He then placed the blanket over Yugi and then was able to get him over his shoulders.

So he walked all the way, carrying Yugi piggy-back. The night was cold, and Yami was sure that this cold air would not do Yugi any good. He had to hurry. He then hastened his pace.

Stars glimmered in the distance of the dark sky and a full moon's rays casting shadows upon them as Yami continued walking. Walking down a lonely, path through a dense wood with tree branches every which way and an stillness in the air that felt as though it was closing in on him. The trees stand tall their leaves and branches unmoving. As a cold wind sudden came over them, Yugi coughed.

Yami stopped dead. "Yugi?" he asked. "Are you ok?" Yugi didn't answer. Yami didn't expect him too. "You, if you can hear me… then please hold on. I know someone who isn't too far away from here and she can help you. Just keep fighting back till we get there."

Thoughts ... Memories... Creating a hazy scene of silence was coming into Yami's mind. He himself lost his family once and he wasn't going to lose it again. He set off again, it was so lucky that he knew where to go..

Finally, after what seemed like forever the night sky was fading away to dawn. Here Yami could see exactly where he was now. He was so close… he had to keep going. But he couldn't.

He collapsed. He was so tired he was unable to move any farther. He lay there for a while trying hard not to pass out; trying to get back onto his feet. He had to keep going. He couldn't give up now… not when they were so close… footsteps…

Yami heard the soft patter of footsteps right in front of them. He raised his head and tried to see where they were coming from… then he saw her.

It was a teenage girl, around 13 or 14, with long, black hair. She had a long, cream colored dress, and a beautiful caramel skin. She was carrying a bucket of water with her and was making her way towards them.

"HELP US, PLEASE!" cried Yami.

His voice startled the girl, who dropped her bucket. As water splashed everywhere she took a few steps back. "Who's there?" she cried out. She squinted her eyes to see who had called her and spotted Yami laying there in the middle of the pathway. Her jaw dropped, as she stared at him in amazement.

"It's me, Ishizu," called Yami. "Please I need your help. My friend needs your help."

**(After they got to Ishizu's house, Yami had explained everything that had happened the day before, and she started to treat Yugi.)**

**(You see Ishizu is a healer and she was the only person that Yami could turn to at a time like this)**

Yami was asleep at her table for a while, as she took Yugi into a spare room in the house. After he woke up he went outside..

Her house is a small, two floor cottage in the middle of a thick wood… not too far away where Yami's home village was. There were flowers and herbs growing all around the area, and you could smell the sweet, bitter, spicy smells all in the air.

**(Think of snow white and the 7 dwarfs' cottage and you got her home almost.) **

He stood out there for most of the day… while Ishizu looked after Yugi. He felt so helpless here. Yugi was sick and he had no idea what to do, or how to look after him… it was torture to him.

"Yami?!" called Ishizu's voice from the house. He turned to look and saw her waving him over to her. He ran over to her and the first words out of his mouth were, "How's Yugi? Is he going to be ok?"

She smiled gently and said, "I think so. By the time you got here, the cold he had developed into ammonia. A few more hours and I don't know what would have happened. But I think that he'll make a full recover after a few days of rest."

Relief, pure, relief swept over Yami when he heard that Yugi was going to be alright; he didn't know what he would have done if something would have happened to Yugi.

Ishizu looked at him with a strange look in her eyes. "What have you been up to since you ran away?"

Yami looked away at first, he didn't want to tell her, but she helped them… so

(He told her everything that had happened since he ran off in the middle of the night over a year ago. When he met Yugi, what they've been up too, and what they were going to do.)

She listened very carefully to his story. She never once interrupted him, just letting him go on.

When he was done, she stared at him as though this was the first time she ever saw him clearly. "I can see that you've change a great deal since the last time I saw you."

"A lot can happen in just a year," he replied. He waited for her to say something, when she didn't he asked her if he could see Yugi. She just smiled and led him over to the spare bedroom at the far end of the cottage.

She very quietly opened the door and told him, "Now, be quiet. He needs his rest." They stepped into the room. Yugi was fast asleep in a very small bed, fit for one, with a wet, cold rag over his forehead.

Yami walked over to the bed to get a better look at his face. His breath became raspy as he looked at the Yugi's pale face on the pillow. His breathing was coming out short. Yami knelt down at the right side of the bed and gently lifted Yugi's hand to his cheek and ran his fingers through his hair.

He could feel Ishizu looking at him. "Amazing."

Yami looked back at her. "What is?"

She smiled at him again and said, "Its just that… I don't think I've ever seen you care about someone as much as you care about him. Not only that, but the two of you… you could be twins."

Yami smiled at that remark. He heard that one a lot.

"Yami," Ishizu started to ask him softly, "Why haven't you told him?"

Yami raised an eyebrow a little bit in surprise. "Told him what?"

She smiled at bit at him then gave him a confused look. "Why haven't you told him? Why you ran away in the first place?"

He went very white, and looked at her with a startled as she said to him, "I think that he deserves to know the truth."

Yami didn't answer as he slowly looked away from her. "I just don't know when the time would be right to tell him." he said almost whispering… more to himself than her.

"When will you?" she asked quietly. "Someday you have to tell him the reason why you ran away from home."

Yami didn't say anything, but he couldn't look back at her either. He waited until Ishizu's turned towards the door. "When your friend is recovered… will you tell him the truth? Can you at least do that?"

Yami nodded, still refusing to look at her and waited until he was sure that she had left. Once she was gone, Yami sighed and lean against the bed looking at Yugi's face. He just doesn't know when to tell him; the real problem was that he was afraid of what Yugi would think of him if he was to tell him the truth. He just sat there holding Yugi's hand all night… waiting for his sweet, innocent, amethyst eyes to open.


	8. The Truth about the Runaway

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 8-The Truth about the Runaway

Yami stayed watch over Yugi all night; he never once left his side. The only think that was going through his mind was the dream he had the night before he met Yugi. Yami closed his eyes and thought about that dream once again… it had been quite some time since he thought about it… but…

… why did he think that he wasn't real. That dream that he had that night was so real, and he just brushed it off as though it was nothing. How could he have every have thought that it was all just a dream?

"I'm sorry, Yugi," he whispered quietly putting his head down. He wasn't sure if he could hear him but it didn't hurt to try. "You were the one who made things different; you were the one who let me in. You were the one person that I could always count on. I don't understand how I ever thought that you weren't real. You were real… at least to me you were… wasn't that enough? You were my friend."

"We'll always be friends, Yami. And that's pretty real."

Yami's head snapped up when he heard that voice. Yugi was looking at him with exhausted eyes, and a small smile. "Yugi…" whispered Yami. "Are you ok?"

Yugi gave a bigger smile. "I've been better, but I've been worst." He looked around him, "Where are we?" he asked.

"We're at a healer's house. I've known her for a long time, and she was the only person I could think of too help us out."

"Oh, I see," said Yugi. "She's your friend?"

Yami thought that one over for a minute. He didn't know about Ishizu being his friend, I mean they weren't exactly close, but they got along alright.

"I'm sorry," said Yugi closing his eyes, breathing deeply. Yami looked at him in surprise. "Sorry for what?" he asked him confused.

"I'm sorry for getting sick," said Yugi not looking at Yami. "I should have told you that I wasn't feeling well, if I did we wouldn't be here."

Yami shook his head fiercely. "It not your fault," he said loudly. Yugi looked back at him, wide-eye. "It's my fault for not noticing that you were sick," said Yami looking at him with sad eyes. "If I've noticed a little earlier, we could have stopped and rested, till you felt better and…"

"It's alright," said Yugi, cutting him off. "If you feel alone, I'll be there. If you want to cry, you can cry on my shoulder. If you need a hug, I'll be here for you. If you're happy, then I'm happy... anytime you need a friend, I'm always going to be there for you."

Yami thought for a second that he was going to cry. All his life he never once thought that anyone would ever care about him… never once thought that anyone would want to be here for him… but he did. When they first met each other, he somehow knew they would always be friends. Their friendship has kept on growing through all the adventures we had together. Yugi listened to him when I had a problem, and help dry the tears from my face whenever he cried. He took away my sorrow and erased all the loneliness that was in my heart. He could never forget the fun they had; they laughed 'til their faces turned blue and talked about things that they thought were funny. This was a true friendship and he wouldn't have traded it for anything.

"As I pass through this lengthy struggle of life in this fleeting world, I cannot help but long for the midnight moon I once saw," croaked out Yugi.

Yami looked at him again, and saw that Yugi's eyes had closed and his breathing was quiet as he went off to his dreams.

"No matter the result, I am pleased with the boy's stubbornness. I can already see the stunned faces of some mud-brained adult," said a calm voice from behind them. Yami spun around and saw that Ishizu was standing in the doorway.

"Others think this child's string will be easy to pull from the shadows… But they will find that he is no puppet."

Yami turned back to look at Yugi, "How long have you've been there?"

He heard Ishizu's footsteps slowly walk towards them and then stop right beside him. "Really now Yami is this how you plan to go through the rest of your life? Ears plugged… eyes closed… hiding behind the pain of your own past? How far will you go to forget everything?"

Yami didn't look at her, trying to block out the things that she was saying… when he realized that… she was right. A friend is someone who can see the truth and pain in you even when you are fooling everyone else. A true friend is there is there to make you laugh even when you feel like crying, Yami, and if you need to cry, I think he should be the first to know about it. When he is well again, I must insist that you tell him the truth on why you ran away. Do you agree?"

Yami nodded without looking at her, and he remained that way for a long time, until he heard her leave the room. Yami just sat by Yugi's side and waited.

* * *

**(Two weeks later)**

After two weeks in bed, Yugi had finally gotten over his sickness and was walking around the small cottage and through the garden with Yami. Yami had hardly left his side the whole time; but even after all this he still hadn't told Yugi the truth about why he ran away.

"Is it that we're so different from each other?" said Yugi's voice. Yami was startled out of his daze and looked down at him, "Did you say something?"

"I was just wondering that maybe the reason that you seem so distracted these days is that we are so different from each other?"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Yami asked him in amazement.

As they walked on Yugi went on talking, "It's just that I've noticed that you aren't yourself. You seem so distracted lately, just gazing off into space and me and Ishizu have to keep repeating ourselves because you aren't listening. You're not yourself, something is bothering you. And I thought that maybe it's because that we are so different from each other that I can understand why you aren't happy."

As Yugi was talking, Yami was shaking his head. "No, Yugi, it's not that you don't understand me, it's that I don't understand myself." Yugi had no idea what to say to that so he just kept on listening.

"You have helped me in more ways than one Yugi. You've given me so much that I feel like I'm about to over flow. Look at me Yugi... I need you to listen to me… I need to tell you the truth on why I ran away from home."

Yugi stopped dead and stared at him, as though he never saw him clearly before. Never once in the year that they've been traveling had Yami ever once told him why he ran away. Yugi knew that he had problems with his home and he didn't want to stay there for another second but he never told Yugi what the problems where. And Yugi never once tried to talk about it, though he burned with curiosity, he just decided to wait until Yami was ready to talk about it. Well, now seemed like he was finally ready to tell him.

Yami took a deep breath and began talking, "It's just that… my home village isn't too far away from here, in fact if we just walked along the path that leads here then we would be there in almost half a day." Yami stopped talking for a second as though he thought that Yugi would say something. When Yugi didn't he went on, "The real reason I left home was because of someone I used to know who lived in the village. And the only thing that he ever wanted in life was power.

He was obsessed with power… it was all he ever cared about. He'd go on and on about nonsense, blind to everything else, except how to get more, more power; and to use every means to get it. Everything he did, he did to get closer to power, to understand it. He made ships, weapons… he even used to punish me greatly for speaking out of turn."

Yugi gasped. "He punished you?"

Yami let out a sad sigh. "That's a part of my life that I rather forget. Don't worry though, it sure didn't last long. I left home... and him behind. But before I left, these people offered him power… more than anyone could ever hope for… and he took the offer. And when he did… I think that's when he lost his heart to power itself, which was when he lost himself. And when that happened; I suppose that's when I lost my father.."

Yugi stared at him. He just stood there numb; he had no idea what to say… how to help. But before he could think of something Yami turned around to look at him… "Don't make the same mistakes that he made," he said sadly.

Yugi couldn't stop staring at Yami, and after a minute Yami turned his back on Yugi and went on. "I ran away. I couldn't stand to see him like that anymore. A power-hungry, shadow of himself. So I ran away… for the first time in my life I was free. Funny that I left the village, only to return to so close to it now; I mean how could I have known that it would turn out this way? And then, of course, I met you. All that running, and I got nowhere. It's time to end this—cut my ties to the past." He walked a few feet away watching the tree branches blow in the wind.

"Hating my father… getting away from him. It's all I ever thought about." He went on, "but I never did anything about it. I mean, I realized there was nothing I could do. It made me feel… hollow somehow. And then I'd felt... alone. That's why I ran away, just anything to keep my mind off it. That's why I never told you—I was running away from my problems. I needed to get away from his control. That's why I left. But you know what? I'm through with it. I'm through running. I'm ready to find my purpose. To find some real answers—some reasons. If I stick with you, I think I will."

Yugi felt kinda sick after hearing all that and he didn't know what to say to that… except for… "Why me? Why do you think that sticking to me going to help you?"

Yami turned again to look long and hard into Yugi's face.. "After I lost my father, I had abandoned all hope for a chance to be happy... but I never did forget that a family was all that I really wanted. If I could protect but one friend… to have just one person to protect... then I could bear any shame. I would bear it proudly. If I can't defend the only person who ever believed in me... then I don't know what I do."

"You mean… me?" asked Yugi in amazement.

Yami smiled and walked forward. "Yugi," he said gently. "You were the only person who ever wanted to listen to me. You were the only person who ever cared about me. You are as dear to me as though you were my younger brother."

Yugi felt as though happiness was filling his soul, "You mean that?" he asked.

Yami laughed at the expression on Yugi's face. "Yugi, you and me—we are brothers and we will always be here for each other.. Remember the promise we made that night at the spring?"

How could Yugi forget? When he nodded Yami went on, "I'm sorry about never telling you all this but I was afraid of what you would think. Now after I told you, it seems funny that I was afraid of telling you at all. it's just that my whole life is me never fitting in anywhere… no place to belong. And by the time I realized that… I was alone."

They walked on is silence for a little ways before Yugi asked him rather timidly, "Do you still hate your dad for doing all of this?"

"Nah, I guess... after all this… I'm just sad that we were never able to work things out."

"It's hard to leave the past behind, I know," said Yugi quietly. "It's hard to be brave in a world full of people you know nothing about. You can lose sight of what's important, and the darkness inside you can make you fell so alone. But I want you to know that no matter what you'll always have at least one friend here by your side."

Yami smiled again at that and said, "I know that. But thanks for saying that all the same, this is the first time that I've ever been able to talk about it." I'll remember the things I did for a while, but I'll remember the person I did them with forever, he thought to himself.

* * *

**(A few days after that talk)**

Both Yami and Yugi were standing in the doorway saying their goodbyes and thank you's to Ishizu.

"Oh, don't mention it," she said to them. "It's good to see you again Yami. And I have to say that its been a pleasure to have gotten the chance to meet you Yugi," she said smiling at him. Yugi smiled a sweet smile back at her.

"It's been nice to have been able to meet you too Ishizu," he said politely. "I hope we can meet up again someday."

Ishizu looked back at Yami and asked more seriously, "What are your plans now?"

Both Yugi and Yami had thought long and hard about that for a while all last night. "Well," said Yami, we are going to pass right on by the village up ahead and continue on our way to the next. We'll figure out what to do from there."

Ishizu nodded. "Well, if you ever need help—you know where you can find me."

Yami nodded at her. "Thanks again for everything, Ishizu." They both looked at each other for a minute before Yugi said, "Let's get going Yami. We have a long walk ahead of us."

Yami looked back at Yugi and said "Right." As Yugi turned to walk away he said, "if you don't hurry Yami, you'll be left behind," said Yugi looking at him with those gentle, amethyst eyes. And then a second later he ran off.

"Ha, ha, adventure first, ask questions later. Your brother is more like you then you are, Yami," said Ishizu laughing. Yami looked at her in surprise. "How did you…?" he began.

She raised her hand, "I know the way you two are together. It's like you both are brothers, I know that you two aren't really brothers… but it could easily been made a mistake." She then looked at him seriously again and said, "Good luck. And take care of your friend. He's the best thing you got now."

Yami nodded again, he didn't need her to tell him that, and he took off running after Yugi. Leaving Ishizu standing in the doorway, watching the pair walk out of sight..

"Its gonna take a lot of work but if there is anyone out there who can its you Yugi," she said to herself. "I know that the journey you both have ahead of you is going to be a hard and long one… but I think as long as you both have each other… its gonna be alright in the end.

Not only that, but I think that the only ones who can cause you both to going your fullest… is each other. Yami I think that Yugi is the only one who has a chance of opening your heart."

* * *

The boys walked along the dirt road, letting the cool wind hit their face, not saying a word until something came into Yami's mind. "Yugi? You know when you first woke up in Ishizu's house? What did you mean by '_as I pass through this lengthy struggle of life in this fleeting world, I cannot help but long for the midnight moon I once saw?"_

"Oh, that," said Yugi. "It's nothing, but a saying my mother once told to me. She said that when life gets tough for her she thinks of her favorite memory and that makes everything seem worthwhile. See, she's remembering the first time she and my dad had met; they met under the light of the full moon around midnight when they were young. So I guess I was dreaming of my parents that night."

Yami thought that one over for a minute before saying, "I wished I could have met her."

Yugi dropped his head. "I wished you could have to. I think that she would have liked you. But I hope that wherever she is now… I hope that she and dad are happy." Yugi could feel tears beginning to burn his eyes again and he felt Yami put his arm around his shoulders.

"I know they are, Yugi," he said gently. "And I know that things are going to be ok for us in the end."


	9. Capture

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 9-Capture

For hours the two talked as they walked along the winding road. Yami was keeping a close eye on Yugi, worried that he would get sick again. And Yugi was sticking close to Yami as though he was afraid of being left behind.

"Yami?" asked Yugi after walking awhile in silence. "What is your village like?"

Yami looked at the ground before answering sadly, "You know the village we were in before you got sick?" he asked. He looked up in time to see Yugi nodding. "Well, it's a lot like that one… only a lot colder because it's so much farther up north.

I used to live in a large house overlooking the whole village. When you looked out of it you could just barely see the bright blue ocean and you can smell the salty air." He stopped talking for a minute as though trying to remember its beauty and then he thought of something.

"Yugi… you've never seen the ocean have you?" he asked. Yugi gave him that sweet yet sad smile before answering, "Can't say that I have. But I would love to learn all I can about it." Yami smiled and they continued on their way. "We'll be there very soon."

The continued on their way for some time until they reached the foot of a large hill, as soon as Yami spotted it he stopped and put his hands over Yugi's eyes.

"What are you doing?" he cried out laughing. "Yami I can't see!"

"Keep walking as soon as we reach the top of the hill you'll be able to see the ocean. I wanna see the look on your face." He made Yugi walk forward while keeping his eyes covered the whole time. By the time they reached the top Yami turned Yugi towards the ocean and said, "Ok, you can look now."

Yugi opened his eyes and gasped.

It was as if Yugi came out of the darkness, or as though he came out of a deep sleep. He saw jets of sparks in fountains of blue come leaping out of the large sight of blue. And out of the invisible, streams of bright blue drops of rain from the showery heavens, and bright blue droplets surge from the under-dark to their ladder-tops.

And all the manifold blue Yugi could see a faint rainbow arching over in the skies, which sparked a whole new set of sparks of wonder opening in surprise. All these pure things coming from the foam and spray of the sea; the darkness abundant, which seemed to have just mysteriously vanished, broke into a dazzle of living, as dolphins that leap from the sea.

He had never seen such a beautiful sight in all his life. If felt kinda like a dream, he would never forget this sight for as long as he lived… never.

"What do you think?" asked Yami's voice.

Yugi turned to look at him as said simply, "Thank you for bringing me here."

* * *

They continued on their way making sure to pass as far from the village as they could go. They planned on going around the village and then stopping at the next one and that was what they intended to do. Of course things never work out the way we plan.

While they were talking, they once again had no idea that they were being watched… however this time it was by someone who wanted to help them. A group of soldiers where watching them from the shadows.

"I have to say that the resemblance is freaky," said a man with a deep scar running down the side of his face, and holding a large knife.

"For once I have to agree with you," said the gruff voice of a muscle bound man with a 3 foot sword.

"They're kids', so capturing them is so going to be too easy. Why he even wants them alive is beyond me," said a scrawny looking man with a bunch of rope and a small knife.

"Yes, but since there are two of them can't we just kill one and take the other back?" asked the man with the scar.

"You heard what our employee said," said the scrawny man. "We need to bring BOTH of them back alive and unscathed."

"Why?" he whined. "What is our employee planning to do with both of them?"

The muscle man shrugged. "Who knows who cares? We won't get paid unless we bring them both back alive and unharmed. Unless you're scared of getting beat up by two little kids?" he said with a sadistic smile.

The scared man gave him a big '**pow'** to the head and told him to shut up or he'd pull his tongue out of his head. "Shut up both of you," said the scrawny man. "Just grab them, tie them up, and then we drag them both back. Easy right? So let's hurry and get this over with already and don't mess up this time."

"Right boss," replied the other two men.

* * *

Both of them walked together, laughing and talking about what they would do once they reached the next village. They decided to stop by and pick up some coats because the weather was getting colder by the day.

They stopped by a river to rest for a minute when Yami said, "So if things keep going well it shouldn't be long until we reach the northern shore, Yugi."

Yugi gave him a big smile and answered, "That's good, I'm tired of walking." As they continued talking they didn't even hear the soft sound of footsteps creeping up from behind them and by the time they noticed it was too late.

(To make a long story short both boys were hog tied and caught in the same net and where being dragged towards Yami's village)

Yugi clung to Yami as they were dragged back towards the village. Yugi could feel tears slowly beginning to fall as he buried his face into Yami's shirt. Yami wrapped his arm around Yugi and held him as his tears began to stain Yami's shirt.

Yami was thinking fast… there had to be a way to get out of here… but nothing came to his mind.

He let himself be dragged off in a net and listening to the men gaggle on and on… just waiting for the right time. But while he was waiting something disturbing came into his mind. These thieves… they are here to capture us… both of us. I don't know how but the only person who could have made something like that… is my father. Why? And why are they after Yugi?

Yugi continued to cry loudly until the man with the scar got so tired of hearing him whine that he raised his hand and with an almighty**smack **hit Yugi so hard that he blacked out. Yami then started to call the man names that any mother would make him clean his mouth out with soap but they just hit him also to shut him up… although not hard enough to knock him out.

He kept fighting back but every time he did he got a hard smack across the face. He just had to be patient until he got a chance to get him and Yugi out of here. But he would get them out… or at least Yugi anyway.

As he thought that he pulled Yugi closer to him and vowed that he would do whatever it took to protect his friend. But before he could think of anything else… Yami's own personal hell just appeared in front of them.

Yami was home.

* * *

Yami's village was a large fishing village which was somewhat isolated, and sited around a small natural harbor which provides safe haven for a village fleet of fishing boats. The village needed to provide a safe way of landing fish and securing boats when they are not in use. If a fisherman from outside the village lands fish on the beach, he gives some of the fish to the village headman. Village fishing boats are usually characteristic of the stretch of coast along which they operate. Traditional fishing boats evolve over time to meet the local conditions, such as the materials available locally for boat building, the type of sea conditions the boats will encounter, and the demands of the local fisheries.

Apart from catching fish, fishing villages often support enterprises typically found in other types of village, such as village crafts, transport, schools and health clinics, housing and community water supplies. In addition, there are enterprises that are natural to fishing villages, such as fish processing and marketing, and the building and maintenance of boats.

Medieval towns tended to grow around areas where people could easily meet, such as crossroads or rivers. Towns needed more water than villages, so a nearby water supply was vital. Rivers would provide the water used for washing and drinking and they were used for the disposal of sewage (if it had not been simply thrown into the streets).

Yami had hoped that he would never have to see this place again.

_'Flowers wither and lose their hue, much as I, reflect in vain time lost to the long rain. Back then I had to work so hard to win my freedom? I... I have... I have nothing...'_ he thought to himself silently.

Well maybe not nothing…

"Yugi" he whispered so quietly that the men had no hope of hearing. Yugi didn't stir. He was out cold.

He let the men pull them out of the net and tie them up before throwing them into the back of a cart. They were tied so tightly that they couldn't move, their eyes were also covered, and they had gags in their mouths so they couldn't call for help. Yami fought valiantly against his bonds while his mind worked quickly, trying to think of something that he could do to get them out of this mess.

While he fought; Yugi dreamt.

* * *

Yugi wandered through his dreamland, living battles he doesn't remember fighting. What's a dream and what's a memory? What's reality and what's a tale? For as long as he can remember he'd memories. And some particular memories played themselves over and over again in him mind.

_His mother was laughing as she held Yugi close to her._

_"Whole villages... destroyed. At the time of the invasion, a division of knights have entered the city—there was fire, and exploding stones. Friend and foe died alike. Something was there—something that could kill many people in just one night. The ultimate power was there."_

_Yugi listened to her with his eyes wide as dinner plates. "Momma, is that why they moved to the island? To keep it from destroying anything else?"_

_"Yes, Yugi," said his mother gently. "Merlin and Morgan le Fay didn't want any more innocent people to die because of a few evil men. So they sealed the ultimate power on top of the tower in the middle of an island, in the middle of nowhere._

_"On the farthest shores,_

_Beyond the dagger rocks"_

_And past the river of time..._

_Shrouded deep in a roiling mist..._

_The sacred ship sleeps: its name… Swiftflight_

_Who knows the Paths?_

_Children, alone, know the way."_

_"Lo, Child, born from days unfold,_

_Oh, young, pure heart, free of any evil._

_Know this: This tower_

_Challenges the sky,_

_Where the watcher; the true guardian,_

_He waits, for one with a pure heart._

_Those without power,_

_Want it not._

_Those with power,_

_Trust it not._

_Those with sight,_

_Heed it not._

_Destroy the illusion,_

_Cut through to the true path._

_You must choose the right way, but not just for yourself,_

_Decide what is most important in the end."_

_This always puzzled Yugi. "Momma what does that part mean?"_

_She smiled before taking his hands in hers and said, "I'll tell you… Part One: Close Your Eyes… Part Two: Cross Your Fingers… Part Three: And Make a Wish…"_

**The dream faded and a new one took its place.**

_His father picked him up and carried him on his shoulders as they walked forward to the well to get water for the evening. "What could possibly be worse than falling off a cliff and dying? Finding yourself... in unfamiliar territory..."_

_"Why is that worse than dying dad?" little Yugi asked curiously._

_"Well, if you die then you don't have to worry anymore. But if you are stuck in someplace that you've never been then you will have a fear of being somewhere, completely alone._

_Yugi shivered. The way that dad made it sound was scary; he grasped ahold of his father even tighter. His father smiled._

_"Don't worry, Yugi," said his dad. "You're strong… you'll make it."_

**A new dream came forward.**

_"Momma, I don't know how it works. Like when I see you and daddy together, it's like I can see a really strong connection between you both. It's those connections that I see. Just by looking at someone I can tell what's going on inside them. I don't know how else to describe it. When I meet someone I can see their true essence. People can try and hide their true intentions. But I can get past all that, it's like I can tell who a person really is."_

_"It's a gift, Yugi," said his mother. "A wonderful gift."_

**Now it's the day that he left the village and when he was speaking to the man in the cart.**

_"And what if you don't have any friends?" asked Yugi before he could stop himself._

_"I'll tell ya kid... someone who doesn't have any friends is person, is a person who lives only half way."_

_Now Yugi was really confused. What did the man mean? He still didn't understand. What did he mean 'lives only half way'?"_

_"I'm sorry, sir, but I still don't understand. Can you explain it to me in a way that makes sense? Please?" he asked._

_The man smiled gently. "Ok, kid, I think the best way for me to say it is that, the best you can do for a friend is simply to be his friend. You have might not have tons of wealth to bestow on him or land to give them. But if they know that you are happy just by being with them, if they are a real friend, then they will want no other reward. A real friend can be quite as dear to you as a sibling would be to you. I don't really know how else to describe it._

_Ya see, but you see friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. Aside from love. It's not something you can be taught on your own, but even if you studied for 1000 years and haven't learned the value of friendship, you haven't really learned anything at all. Get it, kid?" the man asked when he was done talking._

_The first part Yugi understood. A friend is like a sibling to you. Someone who would be happy just to be with you, at least that's what Yugi thought. But the man just lost him with that last part. "if you haven't learned the value of friendship, you haven't really learned anything at all." What did that mean?_

_"I'm sorry," said Yugi feeling dumber by the second. "But I'm still not sure I get it. I mean… how do you know when someone becomes your friend?" he asked._

_The man thought about that for a minute before answering, "You ask some deep questions, kid. You really are mature for someone ya age, kid. Well, we can never tell the precise moment when a friendship is formed."_

_…_

_The man thought about that one for a minute before answering. "Well, I know that me and Alfleda becoming friends wasn't just acoincidences," he answered slowly. "I needed a companion for my long journeys, but able to work with me and help me when I was down and push me when I needed a push. So when I met Alfleda, here, when she and I was young, the choice was clear. It had to be her."_

_Yugi smiled. "But when did you really become friends?" he asked again._

_For a while the man didn't speak. "It's strange," he said quietly. "Even after all these years I'm still not entirely sure how or when we became friends. All I know is that we were suddenly together and that's all that matters."_

_Yugi thought that he understood but before he could really think about it the man spoke again. "Listen, kid, its hard to really understand friendship unless you have one. You don't have too many friends, I take it?" he asked looking back at Yugi._

_Yugi could feel red creep into his face. He didn't know what to say to this man… but Yugi got the feeling that he wasn't just a cart-driver. He was someone else. But before Yugi could say anything else the man smiled good-natured at him before turning to face the road again. "Its, alright, kid" he said. "You're still young. It might take a while for you to find a real friend. But just remember, kid, the greatest gift is not found in a castle nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends."_

_Yugi nodded. He knew that much. He knew when he left the village that it was going to be a long, and hard journey. But that wasn't going to stop him. He wasn't going to spend the rest of his life in that village, feeling so lonely that he could hardly bare it. Without thinking about it he spoke again; he forgot about the man driving here for a second. "How do know if your friends a real friends?" he asked himself again._

_"The greatest of friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and downright impossible to forget."_

_Yugi looked up. The old man had spoken again. "We each need to find our own friends in this world, kid. Sometimes it's just not easy. "Well, if you ask me, kid, the best kinds of friendships are the ones that last. The ones that, like ya know, a friendship with friends that, not only protect you from others when something goes bad, but from yourself when you try to take blame. To have a true friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself."_

**Every important memory and adventure crossed his mind.**

_"As I pass through this lengthy struggle of life in this fleeting world, I cannot help but long for the midnight moon I once saw."_

**And then everything went dark.**

Yugi carefully walked through this neverending darkness; trying so hard to be brave, although all he could see was fear covering his eyes as they started to flow with tears. As he sat there now, yearning for Yami to come here to embrace and comfort him. He started to cry and wonder why he was left alone to hope alone... in this dreamland.

* * *

Yami couldn't sleep. (You wouldn't either if you were bound, gagged, and being taken somewhere you didn't want to go.

He didn't know how long he and Yugi where stuck in the cart but he knew that it must have gotten late, because he could hear birds chorusing in woeful complaint of air dense with droopy curtains of cold.

He fumbled his cold-tipped fingers with the rope binding his hands but they wouldn't give. He thought to himself _'I wonder why we are here now and why we were taken. I wonder why we're not sitting in front of the river fishing to the night's meal, while blowing away the valleys and waves of Goosebumps. I wonder why we're taken from our quest to find the flying ship.'_

This weather is not conducive to sleep. It's not conducive to peace or embrace or warm tender whispers. It's the kind of weather that leaves people smoky-eyed and restless. Nights like this make lily gardens freeze over, make people bitter, while making dogs and cats howl at the moon. Nights like tonight are landscapes meant to be clawed through by fingernails, ridden across like wild animals and plummeted into like a pearl-diver exploring shimmery green seaweed in a dark indigo abyss.

If you we were free, I'd tell you where the pearls are hidden.

If you we were free…

Will they ever be free?

He knew he got them mixed up in a prison of another shape. They could've been lying out on the damp grass staring up at the fallen stars and frozen lemony tequila running down our chins as we tell each other stories about what they would do when they found the ship.

They could've jump the fences and run through the forests while waiting for the moon to fail and run through the bright and warm sunlight, laughing and enjoying their youth.

But all too soon though, they were dragged back into a trap and held captive by their own dark pasts.

This night will be one of the hardest nights they will be forced to go through.

And yet.

Yami couldn't help but have a faint hope that they would become break from the chains holding them back and they would once again taste the sweet flavor of freedom.


	10. Their tormentor

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 10-Their tormentor

Sorry about the mistake in chapter 9. I've been having some computer trouble; I've fixed it now so plz go back and read it.

Yami fought valiantly against his bonds, hoping against hope that he would be able to at least loosen the ropes, which felt like chains around his hands and feet. But nothing he did made the slightest difference. He might as well have tried to move a mountain for all the good it did him. All he could do was sit in the cart with the ropes and blindfold; and listen to Yugi's quiet breathing.

* * *

Yami sat it the darkness for a very long time. He never felt more helpless in his whole life; while he was in the dark he began to torture himself with thoughts on what their capturers were going to do to them.

Which brought up another thought, if he was torturing himself with thoughts about what their capturers where going to do to them, does that count as them torturing him? Since they were the ones that were causing all this pain in the first place?

He so did not need this. He had to figure out a way to get them out of this mess and he wasn't going to let these freaks stop him. His cold, numb fingers worked hard as he tried to worm his hands out from those tight bindings as they began to dig their way into his wrists. He twisted and turned but his bindings were like iron bonds sinking their teething into his flesh and refused to let go.

Finally, he gave up trying to get them off and just lay still as the cart went bumping along the road. He felt the cold around swirl around him and he began to shiver; now he remembered that he hated the cold. This day could not get any worse.

He really shouldn't have thought that, because as we all know, whenever someone says that; it always gets worse.

'Mamma…' croaked a very soft voice.

Yami lay very still… Yugi was quietly talking in his sleep…

* * *

Yugi was still inside his memories of before his mother and father died. He was 4 years old and he was picking herbs on the other side of the forest with his mother.

"Mamma," said Yugi in a very sweet voice. "Is this a medic… medici… an herb?"

A very pretty woman came over and smiled a dazzling smile. "A medicinal herb, Yugi," she corrected kindly. "And yes, dear, it's called a lantern plant and we use it to reduce swelling."

"A lantern plant…" replied Yugi slowly committing it to memory.

She gave him another beautiful smile as she very quietly began to sing…

"A twinkle in the night sky

Far, far away

A golden star I gazed upon

In my dreams

On a sleepless evening

I sing alone

Tomorrow I'll sing with you

On the wings of a dream

On a sleepless evening

I sing alone

Tomorrow I'll sing with you

On the wings of a dream

On a sleepless evening

I sing alone

Tomorrow I'll sing with you

On the wings of a dream…"

"What's that song, momma?" asked Yugi after listening to her for awhile.

She looked up at her son and replied to him, "It's a very old song. One that my mother used to sing to me. Would you like to learn it Yugi?"

* * *

Yami must have drifted off to sleep some time because the next thing that he knew was that he was roughly grabbed by the scruff of his neck and through to the hard, cold ground. He was slammed so hard that he started to see stars and he almost lost conscience again.

As Yami struggled to stay awake he heard a slight 'thud' on the ground right beside him and he knew that Yugi was thrown down right beside him. He fought to get up and fight back but he was so tired he could hardly move let alone fight.

He had no choice but to be dragged along the ground as though he were a rag doll and hope for a chance to escape later on. After a few minutes of being dragged one of the guys scooped him up and tossed him over his shoulder as if he really were a rag doll.

"I still say that this was a whole waste of time," said the thug holding Yami. "Why did we have to go through all this trouble just to capture a couple little kids?"

"Who cares?" replied one of the others. "As long as we get paid, I couldn't care less about what our client wants with these two."

"Speaking of which," said the third voice, "Why both of them? What did they do that was so serious?"

"I keep telling you two idiots, who cares?" said the leader again. "We only get paid when we bring them both. And we only get paid for half if we only bring one. Why are you two complaining anyway? This was an easy catch. All we had to do was capture two little kids, bring them to our client, get paid then leave. What's so hard to understand?"

They seemed satisfied with that remark and walked on for a while in silence. Which left Yami to wonder about who their 'client' was.

The person who sent these guys after him and Yugi knew who they were that much was certain. And he also knew that they must want something from them but he couldn't think of a single thing what. He and Yugi were runaways and didn't have much money or supplies. They were on their own in the world and only had each other to support.

Unless… no it couldn't be… was the person who hired these thugs… could it really be…

* * *

Being or feeling alone is one of the saddest places to be. You can have all the money in the world but if you don't have anyone to share it with, you have nothing. The need for human companionship is universal. In ancient times, people stuck together because they literally needed each other to survive. In today's world, we tend to spread out and live more isolated lifestyles. In some ways this is a luxury. In other ways we had it better when we lived in close proximity. Humans are creatures of community and need each other for companionship.

"I can't be a part of the village, elder," said Yugi to the elder of his village the day before he ran away. "I will leave everything behind… I will win my freedom… but I also know that my past will be cut away forever. I won't ever come back to the village… never again. But I… I have a request," he said very quietly. "Please tell me if what you think this is the right choice."

A very old man, who looked older than a wrinkle on dirt and was just a few years away from kicking the bucket, raised his eyebrows.

"And why do you want my opinion, Yugi?" he asked in a very kind, yet hoarse voice.

Yugi shifted his feet, not looking at the elder. "My father said that you had a gift for seeing. I'm not sure I understand what he meant but I know that I need to ask you. The truth is that I'm really scared about leaving… but I don't think that staying here in the village will help me anymore… but then again… what if I'm making the wrong choice? I need to know if what I'm doing is right."

The elder gave him a very long look, one that seemed to gaze into his soul, before he smiled gently and answered, "The village is no longer your home, you must move on. However… I will miss you terribly."

That startled Yugi; he didn't think that anyone would even care if he left. "Yugi," said the elder, "You are much more important than you believe yourself to be."

Yugi thought that over for a second before saying, "That's a nice lie, you know." He turned from him and took a few steps away before the elder spoke again.

"Be cautious. I sense that you will be in for a rough journey." Yugi looked back at him and smiled, "I never thought that it would be easy. I cant explain it… but I know that leaving is the right choice for me," he stood there and looked at the elder hard and long for a minute before finally saying, "Goodbye, Elder."

* * *

Yami was suddenly tossed to the ground. He was so tired that he didn't want to move, his wrists burned and his jaw ached. He wanted to get out of this mess.

All of a sudden he felt strong arms grab him from behind and cut the bindings around his wrists and ankles. He then felt the blindfold and gag in his mouth being ripped off. The light was blinding after being left in the dark for so long.

After a while he eyes readjusted to the small candles in the wide room. The room itself was a wide, circular space with fancy, ceramic tiles. The walls were of thick, grey stones and a high vaulted ceiling. There were a few windows higher up, near the ceiling, but it was so dark out that it didn't make any difference. The only light were of a few torches handing off the walls and the few candles that were lit on a long, wooden table near the wall.

Yami looked around him, trying to make since where they were… when he heard a soft moan coming from his left. Yugi was still laying unconscious right beside him, and was still blinding-folded and tied up.

"Yugi," croaked out Yami with a hoarse voice.

He reached over and held up his head as he tried to untie him best friend. It was then that he heard a voice speak from the shadows.

"Its been too long, Yami."

Yami froze. He knew that voice. It was voice that he tried so hard to forget for over a year.

He turned his head around, still holding onto Yugi, and looked into the shadows. And as he thought… the person who was causing all this pain and suffering…

"What took you so long, Yami?" the man asked as he stepped into the light of the flaming torches. "I was beginning to think that you didn't want to come home."

It was a face he tried so hard to forget… one that haunted his memories… and the absolute last person he wanted to see ever again. Their tormentor… was his own father.


	11. The Truth

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 11-The Truth

Yami stared at the man before them as though he never saw him before. He had changed since the last time he saw him and he didn't like it one bit. His hair was a dark, almost black color, his skin a pasty, sickly white, his eyes filled with a lust for power. But the most horrible was how ugly he looked, his hate and lust for power made him look twisted.

He smiled at his son with a horrible smile, showing yellow teeth.

"Now, now, young man. I bid you welcome to my fortress. I must apologize for my delay in welcoming you to my home. But aren't you even going to say hello to your father?" he asked in a cold and creepy voice.

The shock of seeing his father again had worn off and a deep burning hate began to consume him. Yami stood up, shaking with rage and yelled, "You're no father of mine! My father died years ago and he was replaced by a power-hungry psychopath! What do you want with us? If you want me fine, take me but let the boy go! He's not involved in this!"

He started to gasp for breath; he had been wanting to say all that stuff you years. He stared at his father just daring him to say something. After a minute his father gave him an even wider smile as he then walked over to Yami.

Yami took a few steps back and stood protectively over Yugi. He wasn't going to let his father hurt Yugi no matter what; he could take whatever his father wanted but if he hurt Yugi he didn't know what he'd do.

He stood there with his hands clenched, as if readying himself for a fight. His father slowly walked forward until he stood right in front of Yami… he then raised his hand… and slapped him so hard that Yami almost fell over.

Yami quickly regained his balance, ignoring the stinging pain on his left cheek, and stared with a deep anger at his father.

He smirked, "You haven't change a bit have you, Yami?" he asked in a know-it-all voice.

"Wrong," said Yami through clenched teeth. "I've change a lot. No thanks to you."

"Oh?" said his father in an unconcerned voice. "Who then? Little Yugi here?"

Yami froze. "How do you know Yugi's name?" he asked through numb lips.

His father gave him another terrible smile before answering, "Oh I know all about your little friend here. In fact, he's the key to the greatest power known to man."

Yami felt his jaw drop. The '_key'_? he knew that Yugi was important but the key? The key to what?

"What are you talking about? Yugi's only a little kid. What do you want with him?"

His father shook his head as he very causally began to circle him. "I see that you haven't realized it yet. And you've been traveling around with him for quite some time. Yugi here is the key to the ultimate power."

If Yami was surprised before… it was nothing to what he felt now. The surprise must have been on his face for his father went on, "Judging by the look of amazement on your face I guess this must come as a surprise to you. But it's true. Yugi is the key to getting the ultimate power from Miasmador on the vanishing isle."

"Miasmador?" exclaimed Yami. "You mean the dragon Miasmador? He's real?"

His father let out a terrible, harsh, cold laugh (the kind of laugh that usually comes from a mad scientist). "Real? Of course he's real. He is the only reason why no one can find the vanishing isle. His magic is so powerful that only he will only allow Yugi to make it through to the island. All others will become lost to the mist that surrounds the isle." He stopped circling Yami and walked a few feet away to the long wooden table in on the opposite side of the wall.

He leaned down on it as he spoke again, "Because of that over-grown gecko, my men have all become lost in the tides of the circling mist. As it had happened to those who blew it centuries ago…" his father then seemed lost in thought as he recited a line from the story that Yugi had told him

"In vain glory they arose,

Shouting challenges at the magic.

But prevail they did not. Their doom it was

To guard the power until time's end."

His father then shook his head, "Fools! Allowing Merlin and Morgan le Fay, a couple of old, hags with pointed hats and magic wands to get the better of them, and sealing the ultimate power away on a isle in the mist. They had no right. The ultimate power is ours; it was a gift from the gods themselves. And yet they sealed away. From the reaches of mankind… well till now."

His father turned away to look at his son, and Yami actually took a step back. For a brief moment, he saw such a lust for power… that his father looked more demon than human.

Yami summoned up his courage and yelled at him, "That power is not yours! If it was then you should have be given it. And even if it was… why do you need Yugi?"

His father shook his head as though he was deeply disappointed in Yami for not thinking. "Don't you know the story of the vanishing isle?"

"Of course, I do!" yelled Yami. "Yugi told me all about it. A war was fought for a power, beyond anything they had ever imagined. This power was greater than any magician and according to the legend, whoever had the strength to posses it, would have their destiny changed forever."

"The power to turn the poor into kings, and making the weak strong, cowards can become heroes, and the weakest of magic will become the most powerful of magicians. So people began to fight over the power. Many kings and soldiers fought over it too claim it for themselves, but many innocent people lost their lives over the fighting. So it was decided that the power would be hidden away, in a tower in the middle of the ocean. It was the great wizards, Merlin and Morgan le Fay who decided the power's fate.

They created a vanishing isle in the middle of the ocean that disappeared and appeared only when someone came to claim it. They sealed the power away at the very, top of a tower on the vanishing isle and, as an extra protection; they put up a magical mist around the island so that only a chosen person can find it.

Countless kings and people that fought for control of it were angry at the two wizards for locking the ultimate power away, far beyond their reach. They demanded that Merlin and Morgan release its power and give it to them. The wizards refused many times, but they were finally resorted to placing a curse upon the greedy. They were sealed into the magical mist surrounding the island itself, so instead of gaining the ultimate power, they would be cursed to guard it until the time that a chosen one would come and rightfully claim it."

Yami stopped to catch his breath. "For a long time I didn't understand why they did it but now I think I do. And you know I'm glad they did it! They did it to keep power-hungry monsters like you from finding it and taking over the world!"

His father smacked him on the side of the face again, "Oh such high hopes I had for you son. But you had to run. Run and they ran away with you!"

Yami was so angry that he barely even thought about the pain on his face. "You may have given me life… but you're no father of mine."

"The same words I heard over a year ago," said his father. "You really haven't changed. And you still don't get it do you? Why I had you brought here with your little friend."

Yami looked down at Yugi, still lying out cold on the floor, "Why do you need him?" he asked, fearing the answer.

His father gave him another ugly smile before answering him, "Don't you remember the rest of the story?"

Yami thought about it for a while before reciting the rest of the story, more to himself than to his father, "Well, Merlin, himself, said that only a child who is completely pure of heart… will be able to see through the cursed mist. When that child see's through the mist then all the kings and soldiers that were sealed inside it would allow them to sail through. "

"The only way that those cursed in that mist can become free is for a child to go to the vanishing isle and claim the power. And to this day, the power still waits on top of the tower, unable to give its gift to anyone."

"… a chosen one…" he whispered through numb lips.

"Ah, finally figured it out have you, son?" said his father in triumph. "Your friend Yugi is the chosen one. the only one who will be able to see into the mist and lead the way to the vanishing isle."

Yami was completely stunned. Yugi… his friend… he brother is the one meant to have the ultimate power. "WHY?!" he yelled. "He's just a kid, what did he do to deserve being used by a madman like you?"

"Why a child was chosen I don't know," said his father. "To tell you the truth, Yami, for a while I thought that you were the chosen one but I see now that it's your friend here. And now that we have him, we'll make for the vanishing isle as soon as he wakes up."

Yami was shaking his head. "No," he said. "I won't let you use him for your sick plans. He's my friend and I made a promise to protect him. Stay away from him; he hasn't done anything to deserve this. And besides, you can't get to the vanishing isle unless you have the flying ship."

"Oh," said his father in mock surprise. "You know of the flying ship."

"Yeah, Merlin and Morgan le Fay prepared everything for the chosen one. They made it so that there is only one way for the right child to get to the isle. They used their powerful magic to create a flying ship. And without the ship you can't find the isle," said Yami in triumph.

"True, true," his father. "The hull of the ship was assembled a compact special construction of enchanted wood, so it would never rot. The masts carried square sails consisting of panels of magical linen, which will never tear, and each sail can be spread or closed at a pull, like a blind. The ship was made for speed, not battle, so it's incredibly fast, great for negotiating shallow waterways, essential when running from pursuit.

But the most distinguishing feature of a sky ship is its bow. It was in the shape of a dragon, which was said to protect the ship in any kinds of weather, and it was also what gave the ship the power to fly.

The two wizards built this magic ship for children, and when that child finds it, all they have to do is tell the ship where they want to go… and it will take them there. However, to prevent just anyone from just taking the ship, the two wizards hid it far away."

"On the farthest shores,

Beyond the dagger rocks

And past the river of time...

Shrouded deep in a roiling mist...

The sacred ship sleeps: its name… Swiftflight

Who knows the Paths?

Children, alone, know the way."

"Yes, Yami," said his father. "I already know about Swiftflight. And I already know where it is. If fact, I've found it."

Shock, after shock came over Yami tonight. "No," he said. "You didn't… you couldn't have found it… me and Yugi have… "

"Been looking for it." finished his father. "I know that you and your friend have been searching for the ship. But unfortunately for you, I've found it first. How… I think that you're better off not knowing. Unless of course you would like nightmares."

Yami's father turned and walked a ways away and began to recite…

"Lo, Child, born from days unfold,

Oh, young, pure heart, free of any evil.

Know this: This tower

Challenges the sky,

Where the watcher; the true guardian,

He waits, for one with a pure heart.

Those without power,

Want it not.

Those with power,

Trust it not.

Those with sight,

Heed it not.

Destroy the illusion,

Cut through to the true path.

You must choose the right way, but not just for yourself,

Decide what is most important in the end."

He stopped walking and turned to look at his son again. "The watcher… the true guardian… that bloody dragon.

"But…" said Yami trying to figure out a way to convince his father that Yugi wasn't the one that he was looking for; trying to figure out a way to protect Yugi. "The story says that only the right child will know what it means… and even then…"

"…and even then," cut across his father, "… only at the right time… will they know. The prophecy that Merlin and Morgan le Fay made many years ago, they made it so that only the right child will be able to fulfill it. The dragon Miasmador's soul duty is to protect the ultimate power until the time came when someone with a pure, untainted heart will make a choice."

"The child will be forced to make a decision… one that will decide their own fate… and the fate of someone close to them. They will make a decision; on top of that tower… they will decide what is most important to them."

"So you see my son, Yugi is the one that the prophecy speaks of. We need him to find the isle. And you will be the son of the ruler of the world. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"Yeah," said Yami sarcastically. "But I'll have to change my name, dye my hair, and move to some quiet part of the world to be saved the embarrassment of having a power-hungry, lunatic, psychopath for a father."

His father opened his mouth to say something but Yami had had enough.

"I've had it with you… you've punished me, and hurt me. You've even snooped around inside my head and messed with my memories. Losing the man that I was once proud to call my father broke my heart but I never should have let you take the beautiful memories I had and turn them into something ugly. It was wrong of me to think that feeling nothing was better than feeling sad. The sadness was real. It was human. I misunderstood what Ishizu said before I ran off. She never meant for me to think that my life had no meaning. She said that we each have our own destiny and that's not the same thing. Each one of us has a destiny that's different and that's special. If there is such a thing as destiny then it's your destiny to lose… _father_."

His father gave him yet another ugly smile before he raised his hand and… Yami fell into the darkness… of his dreams.


	12. A Good Hard Slap was All It Took

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 12-A Good Hard Slap was All It Took

**I had chapter 9 fixed finally~!**

A terrible pain was what got Yami to come too. His limbs shook as he pushed himself up, his face ached as he looked around him; trying to make sense of everything around him and the first thing that he noticed was that it was pitch black. _'Where am I?'_ he groaned.

"Yami?" croaked a familiar voice, one that he would recognize anywhere. And it was that voice alone that gave Yami back his strength.

"Yugi?" Yami stared around him trying to find his friend. "I'm right here, Yami," said Yugi's voice from somewhere near. He then felt a small, quaking hand place itself on his own hand. Yami reached out and held onto Yugi's hand as if it were a lifeline.

"Yugi? Are you alright? Where are we? What's going on? What is this place?" Yami would have gone on if Yugi didn't cut him off.

"Yami, one at a time. The last thing that I remember was getting knocked out by those bandits and when I came to I was being dragged into this place. I was trying to wake you up for a while, I was really worried. They said that they just knocked you out and I was beginning to think that you'd sleep for a year. They said that they put us in some prison; I think that it's more of a dungeon than anything, but I guess it's really all the same. Over here there are bars, and I heard some chains in the corner, so I say that we are stuck in a dungeon."

Yami listen very closely, when his memory came back to him. His father was keeping them trapped down here. He was going to wait until the time was right and then force Yugi to get on board Swiftflight and sail to the vanishing isle. He felt sick to his stomach.

"Yugi," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"It's all my fault that we're here right now."

(Yugi listened to Yami explain everything that his father had told him)

"He found Swiftflight?" he whispered in amazement.

Yami nodded, but then realized that Yugi couldn't see him in this darkness and said, "If he was telling the truth then yes. I don't think that he'd be lying this time though. And my deranged father is to blame for what is going on here. Yugi I'm so sorry…"

He felt small arms wrap around his waist, hugging him so tightly that Yugi was squeezing the tears out. "It's not your fault, Yami," said Yugi. But then he felt Yami push him away and crawl to a distant corner of the dungeon. "Yami?"

"I've been living a lie," he heard Yami whisper.

"A lie?" asked Yugi in a confused voice.

He heard Yami sigh before answering, "All this time I thought that I was running away from him. Getting away from his control and living on my own. But now I see that I got nowhere fast."

"I used to be happy… once. When mom was still alive, the 3 of us were all happy and living peacefully. My father used to be a great man, someone I looked up to, someone that I was proud to call my father, someone that I wanted to be just like when I grew up. But then…

…mom got cold one night, she got sick, and she died.

Dad was never the same. When she left, it was like she took his heart with her. It was like he lost his mind, and he changed into this monster. I barely recognize him now. I ran away from him, but now I see that I should have stayed and tried to snap him out of it. Tried to bring him back to the person he used to be.

But I let him down. I abandoned him… I ran away from my past… and now I'm paying the price. It's all my fault. You have to pay for my mistakes."

"Yami," said Yugi.

Yami turned away from Yugi and said, "Please Yugi. Just leave me alone. I don't want anyone with me."

Yugi couldn't take it anymore. And what he did next surprised him more than anyone. He walked right over, grabbed Yami by the front of his shirt, and then slapped him as hard as he could across the face.

Yami stared at Yugi as though he had grown a third eye and wings; he put his hand up to his face where it stung. Yugi had never once shown any signs of Yugi being angry or aggressive.

"Yami," said Yugi, sounding close to tears. "Yami, listen to me. You have to stop this. None of this is your fault. There was no way that you could have known what your father was going to do. If you did then you never would have left. Your father wants power more than anything, and gave up everything so that he could get it. No matter what happened before your father made his choice, you aren't responsible for him." As he said all that, tears started to form in his eyes.

"Yugi…" said Yami in hushed tones.

"And besides," went on Yugi, "don't you think that it would break my heart if you weren't here? After all, I didn't leave my village to find a friend like you just to watch you wallow in self-pity."

"Yugi," said Yami again. He didn't have any idea what to say. He never meant to make Yugi cry and he felt his own heart start to break. He hated to think that he made sweet little Yugi come to tears over the things that he said.

"But Yami," said Yugi in a determined voice. "If you really want to be left alone… then I'll leave you alone. But only if you really want me too." Yugi turned away from Yami and actually took a few steps away.

"No!" cried Yami. He ran forward and grasped ahold of Yugi's hand. "No, I don't want to be left alone. I'm sorry, Yugi, I never meant to make you cry and upset… it's just that…" Yami trailed off.

"It's just what?" asked Yugi in concern looking at Yami full in the face.

Yami took a deep breath and went on, "I've always been afraid to let anyone ever get this close to me. Not since my mother died. Every since she left us… I've been alone. I figured that if my family didn't even want me around, then I wouldn't be around. I decided to leave and to just keep to myself and never tell anyone else how I was feeling, and I always swore that I would never let anyone see me cry." But as he said that, Yugi saw, to his astonishment, that tears were beginning to form the corners of Yami's eyes. "But really, I guess… that…all I ever wanted to do was cry."

"Then cry," said Yugi very quietly. He then said gently, "Your feelings. You can't fight them anymore. Let them win. Just this one time."

As soon as Yami heard that, he felt the tears that he'd been trying to hold back, for so long… finally broke free. He let the tears fall down his face, while he fell to his knees and wept for everything that had happened to him and his friend. He wept for the journey that they were forced to go on… for the trouble that they were in… for everything that had happened.

While he cried he felt small hands on his shoulders; he looked up to see that Yugi was also crying, he was trying to comfort Yami, when it was really Yugi who needed the comfort here. He just held onto Yami as though his life dependent on it and he let the tears free fall.

(Everybody cries sometimes, and if you don't you should. Crying is a natural way of letting go of pent up emotions. It is sad fact that many children are shamed for crying. Adults who are led to believe that crying is not OK may repress their feeling of sadness. Emotions that are not allowed to release tend to leak out in other areas of their lives. The ability to express our emotions whether alone or in communication to others is necessary for a happy life. )

They both cried together for a long time until Yugi let go of Yami and said, "Yami? I think that it's time we got ourselves out of here. Don't you?" when Yami didn't say anything Yugi went on. "How can I blame you for something that your father did? Think of it this way if your father wasn't like this then you might never have run away from home. And if you never ran away then you and I might not have met up and become best friends. Good things, lead to bad things that can lead to more good things.

And that's life. And at the end of the day we all count our blessings. Your dad is just using the story as an excuse to be a real jerk to everyone. And if what you say is true and I'm the one who has to go to the tower and get the power then I just won't take it. If we can get out of here, then we can focus on what to do next."

Yami put his hand up to where Yugi had slapped him. Yugi was so gentle that he didn't feel it too much, but he was so astonished by Yugi actually resorting to throwing a punch that it hurt more than his father hitting him. But he needed that slap right now. He lost his focus and his will to go on.

"Yugi," he said lowering his hand. "You're right, thank you."

Even in the dark he knew that Yugi blushed with embarrassment. "Sorry, about hitting you," he said. "But I couldn't stand to watch you beat yourself up like this. I meant what I said; it's not your fault how your father turned out. I mean, if you could've done anything to have helped him, you never would have left. This was your father's decision. And you have nothing to do with it."

"No," said Yami gently. "I'm glad you slapped me, believe me, I needed that more than anything right now. And you're right. My father chose his own fate; I'm not responsible for him. But it still hurts that a power-hungry, demented lunatic is—was once my father."

He felt Yugi sit back to back with him and heard him say, "Well, I guess it's true. You chose me as a friend but you got stuck with your father. I guess that's why we have friends, to make up for the family that we get stuck with."

Yami laughed at that. It wasn't a happy laugh but it took his mind off their problems for the moment. But he knew that Yugi was right about getting out of here. His father needed Yugi to help him; without Yugi, then there was no way that they could find the vanishing isle. If he could just get Yugi somewhere safe, then, even if Yami was still locked up, at least he could stop his father.

Yami always did go out of his way to upset and annoy his father. The thought made him smile.

But before he could say anything else a door burst open, and the light that came flooding in was blinding. He had gotten so used to the dark dungeon that the light was hurting him so much that Yami covered his eyes, yelling in pain as this blinding light hit his eyes.

Beside him he heard Yugi shout out in pain. At first he thought it was the light hurting him, as it was with Yami… but then he felt strong arms hoisted him up off the ground as easily as if he were a large loaf of bread. He had enough sense to try to fight back, but he was fighting against a mountain for a man, and he knew that he wasn't going to go anywhere.

He had no choice but to be carried off. He hated his father now.

The light was still so bright, that he couldn't open his eyes, but he could hear everything that was going on around him. He heard every step that the large man made on the stone floors, he could hear every breath of air that they breathed in, he could hear their clothes rustling as if they were leaves, he could hear tiny tinkling of something that sounded uncanny like chains being dragged along the ground, and he could hear every whisper that these large bullies were saying.

"I still don't see why these two little brats, are the key to finding the vanishing isle," said a burly, thick voice from somewhere behind them.

The rest of the jerks that were with them chuckled at that remark, "No affence boys," croaked out a guy who sounded like he had a bad head cold. "It's just a small joke."

"Yeah," said Yami. "You know what they say? Small joke, small mind." That remark earned him a pound on the head and a 'Shut up, Runt!'

"Now, I see why you're here, trying to find the vanishing isle," said Yami ignoring the pain.

"Because we deserve that power?" asked another thug with a squeaky voice.

"No because no one hugged you when you were little," and he quickly earned himself another smack on the head.

He went on in silence for awhile, the only thing that he could see through his closed eyelids where the little birds from those hits to the head. All of a sudden the thug who was holding him suddenly threw him to the ground. He opened his eyes, which didn't hurt him nearly as bad as the first time as he blinked. It took a while before his eyes had adjusted to the light and what he saw… scared him more than anything else he'd seen so far.


	13. All Aboard!

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 13-All Aboard!

* * *

He had no idea where they were because he had been blindfolded, knocked out, and blinded since the day by the stream. But now he saw that the sun was low and they were standing on the edge of the ocean, somewhere much farther north than he last opened his eyes outside. They were on the riverbank in air that was so cold, that it seemed to freeze his lungs. The sand he was on, felt like felt like little tiny shards of glass perching his feet, sharp hard rocks were scattered every few inches, and seaweed was spread on the sand like long bits of slimy trains of hair.

The ocean waves were swollen and fierce in its flow, the little grass on the bank; looked like smears of shadows like ink on a deep morning grey. This place would have been depressing enough if Yami didn't look to his right… and what he saw scared him more than anything else he'd seen so far… Waves break helplessly against the boat each side.

It was a ship.

Or, maybe it was once a ship would be the better word.

Yami had to pinch himself to make sure that he wasn't dreaming, because there was no way that this could be real… more like a nightmare. He was sure that it had once been a wonder to look at, and was a very beautiful and elegant ship. But after his father had gotten hold it was scraped clean of all its former magnificence and became a home for barnacles, weeds, mold, and any other extras which increased drag. The wood planks were replaced with damaged from worms, rot, battle wounds, or age, and the hull was then coated with a layer of sulfur, tar, and tallow to give the ship a darkened look.

It was rigged with a larger fore-and-aft mainsail, and it could easily be altered for various sail combinations. The huge bowsprit also added more canvas area for more maneuverability. Thirty to sixty feet long that would have taken a crew of 20 to 70 men to master this beast and work it for lightning-swift attacks, avoiding broadsides, and outrunning pursuit.

With its large square sails hanging from arms on the three masts, they were all torn and stained as if it had seen too many battles. This virtual fort on water would use resistance only as a last but terrifying resort – Yami could easily tell that the broadsides were deadly. With the huge square sails that prevented sailing into the wind, the hull narrow at the top and broad at bottom, made it built for speed and power.

The ship scared Yami because it looked like something you would see at the bottom of the ocean and then hauled up to the surface. It looked like the kind of ship that death would have sailed on… probably did too.

Yami couldn't believe how far his father would go to get what he wanted. And he knew with a sickened heart that dear old dad wouldn't stop until he did get what he wanted. He had to do something to get them out of here… and he had to think fast.

The thugs then all of a sudden lifted Yami up like a rag doll and headed towards the boat. Yami didn't want to be anywhere near this horrible thing, he fought, struggled, bit, and thrashed around. _"There is no way that you're getting me on that thing,"_ he thought to himself.

He put up such a fight this time that the thug carrying him, had to slam him against the hard ground to stop him moving. Once again Yami saw stars, and he just curled up and fought not to pass out again. He could hear Yugi's voice behind him yelling something but he could make out the words as he fought against the darkness that was threatening to overtake him again. The thugs scooped him up once again and carried him over one shoulder like a backpack. And walked over the where the nightmare ship was docked. Yami's vision was starting to go out on him again.

* * *

Yugi was right behind Yami. Or rather the guy who was caring him like a ham was walking right behind the guy who was carrying Yami… but the point was that he was right behind him. He's eyes adjusted to the light fairly quickly and he saw what was happening to both him and Yami and what he saw scared him almost as much as the ship.

He could see things very clearly not long after they were pulled from the dungeon and the first thing that he saw was that they were clearly far away from where they first kidnapped. They were walking through a large stone tunnel with a solid chunk of rock beneath their feet. Their captors made loud thump… thump… thump… with every step, and the one guy behind them was dragging some light, but strong looking chains with a nasty grin on his face.

Yugi gulped at the grin, too afraid to ask what he had in store for the chains. He had no idea how Yami must be feeling now… but if he had to guess, it would be a feeling of deep hatred for his father. What kind of parent would do this kind of stuff?

He then heard the guy dragging the chain say "I still don't see why these two little brats, are the key to finding the vanishing isle."

The rest of the jerks that were with them chuckled at that remark, "No offence boys," croaked out the guy carrying Yugi who sounded like he had a bad head cold. "It's just a small joke."

"Yeah," said Yami. "You know what they say? Small joke, small mind." Yugi grinned at that, how he wished that he had Yami's guts and was able to say what's on his mind. But he felt a deep anger when Yami's remark got him a pound on the head and a 'Shut up, Runt!'

Yugi opened his mouth to say something but before he could, Yami had already beaten him to the punch and said, "Now, I see why you're here, trying to find the vanishing isle," through gritted teeth.

"Because we deserve that power?" asked the one carrying Yami in a squeaky voice.

"No because no one hugged you when you were little."

Yugi almost did laugh that time. But it quickly turned to a frown when he saw them smack on the head again. The trek through the stone tunnel was a slow decline long steep at times. Throughout the whole hike Yugi could feel the cold air begin to hurt and he felt himself beginning to shiver. Yugi grew up south from here and he was not used to such cold weather, and he now understood what Yami had hated about it.

After trekking for awhile, they climbed out of the tunnel and came upon a clump of yellowish, brown grass which looked as if it hadn't seen any sunlight since… ever.

The grass quickly turned to rough looking sand, which looked as if it would be like stepping onto razor-sharp pieces of glass. He hoped that they wouldn't put them down in a place like this; which brought up another important question… why were they here on this beach?

He didn't have a clue just how far north they had come from the day that they were kidnapped, blindfolded, knocked out, and dragged here like a hunted dear. But he saw that they must have come a pretty long way from that tiny stream and that it was getting late because the sun was starting to sink low. They edge of the riverbank felt colder than it should have, thanks to the cold air that seemed to, freeze his lungs. The sand looked almost black in the low light, rocks as large as balls were everywhere, and seaweed looked like thrown-up spinach was every few feet.

The ocean waves were swollen and fierce in its flow, the little grass on the bank; looked like smears of shadows like ink on a deep morning grey. This place would have been depressing enough if Yami didn't look to his right… he almost started to cry.

It was a ship.

He couldn't describe it… he was so scared that he couldn't put it into words. He didn't want to stare at it, but he couldn't seem to turn away. The thug carrying Yami suddenly tossed down like a sack and Yami stood up quickly and gave the guy such a dirty look that if looks could kill the guy would be 6 feet under. Yami looked around and spotted the ship.

The look on his face was horror, disgust, and loathing. He actually took a step backwards as if he was afraid that the ship would swallow him whole. Or maybe that was just Yugi, because it looked like the ship would eat you alive.

The thug then suddenly lifted Yami up like a rag doll and headed towards the boat. It was quite clear that Yami didn't want to be anywhere near that horrible thing because he fought, struggled, bit, and thrashed around.

He put up such a fight this time that the thug carrying him, had to slam him against the hard ground to stop him moving. Yugi was so furious that he started to fight and thrash also. "LET ME GO! LEAVE YAMI ALONE!" he yelled as he fought. If Yami heard him he didn't answer, he just curled up and Yugi could tell that he was fighting not to pass out again. But Yugi was so small that he hardly did any damage to the bully holding him.

The guy who threw Yami to the ground scooped him up once again and carried him over one shoulder like a backpack. And walked over the where the nightmare ship was docked. As they got closer and closer, Yugi could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He'd been afraid before, but that was nothing compared to the fear that he had now. This was a kind of fear that no one should have to go through. Not the kind that a little kid is having when he thinks that make-believe monsters are hiding from beneath the bed or hiding outside your door.

This was the kind of fear that tore through you, and made you wish that you were somewhere, anywhere, else; the kind that could tear your mind in half, and leave you wandering around where strait jackets were mandatory.

He couldn't stand to look at it anymore. He just closed his eyes and prayed that everything was going to be alright. Hoping against hope that he and Yami were going to get out of this place and be free again. He just closed his eyes and wished harder than he ever did before.

He felt the wood of the plank leading from the ship to the shore, crack and creak as the thugs stepped onto it and began to climb. He heard the water slosh against the sides of the ship violently, heard the wind blow through the sails like it was trying to tear the already torn sails till there was nothing left. Along with what seemed like whispers of long-dead people echoing with the sound of footsteps that were coming from nowhere. He smelted the scent of the salty air mixed in with the disgusting smell of mold on the sides of the boat along with a faint smell of death hanging in the chilling darkness of the night. He could feel the dark shadows lurking in the still air,

He heard the sounds of quiet laughing from the thugs carrying them.

He felt another stab of anger as he thought about how much these guys must have been enjoying his fear and pain. Things couldn't get any worse.

He could feel that the guys had stopped climbing and then stopped. Just when Yugi thought that the worst part was over he was then thrown to the floor of the deck like Yami was through to the ground before. As soon as he made contact he felt a very powerful sense of sickness. He felt like he was going to throw up, just by touching the rotting wood.

He decided that he couldn't take it anymore and opened his eyes. He was wrong. It just got worse. The deck was huge, and could easily hold a few hundred people. How anyone would want to even touch this thing let along sail on it was a mystery to Yugi. He was so scared, upset, angry, and in so much pain that he started to cry.

He wanted to leave this place. To be free, and for a brief instant wished he was back at his village with his mother and father. Why did he have to be the 'chosen one'? Why did this have to happen to him and Yami? Why did they have to sail on a ship that looked like it had been lying on the bottom of the ocean for the last century? With squeaky doors, floorboards that creak, creatures living in the wood, shadows, eerie noises, rot, and anything else that's scary.

Having a deck that sounded as if sighing like an old man wheezing or the sails shook like they were laughing at you?

Every nightmare that you ever had… everything that ever scared you… it was there on this plagued ship.

As tears continued to fall down Yugi's face; a pair of rough hands grabbed him and slammed him against the mast, causing him to see little stars again. He was so stunned that he hardly noticed Yami being slammed against the mast right next to him, or the chains being tied around them, securing them to the tall pole. Now he knew what the chains were for.

The chains were wrapped around his body so tightly that he could hardly breathe. He was soon panting for breath. "Stop it!" yelled a voice that he didn't recognize. "We need them alive. If they die then we have no way of finding the vanishing isle."

The men then loosened up the chains slightly. Loose enough for them to breathe, but too tight for them to escape. Then the men turned and left. Yugi heard them turn towards the front and the back of the ship getting ready to make sail. Yugi looked to his left, Yami's head was hanging forward and his breathing was uneasy, his eyes were closed.

"Yami?" whispered Yugi quietly. "Can you hear me?"

"Oh, don't worry about Yami. He won't die so easily," said the voice that told the men to leave them alive. He looked up and was staring into the coldest eyes that he ever seen. He could see that they were once warm and laughing. That they knew happiness and joy. But now they were cold and sad; and the only laughing he knew was for the pain of others. They were the kind of eyes that were so full of anger and pain that they got pleasure of seeing others suffer.

The face looked like it aged to fast, and that the man who wore it was wasting away from the inside. The face had such a powerful thrist for power, as if he was a vampire, longing to suck the life out of a victim. His hair was a dark, almost onyx color, his skin a pasty, sickly white, an ugly face filled with nothing but hate and lust that made twisted smile.

Yugi gulped. "Are—are—are you Yami's—father ?" he stuttered out. He only replied with a smile that gave him the creeps. "Can't you tell?" he asked him in a silky voice that scared him more than the smile.

Yami's father stood up and turned away from the mast, slowly walking away. "You have no idea just how long I've been looking for you, Yugi," he said not looking at him. "I have to say how surprised I am to see how you resemble my only son. To tell you the truth I thought that it was my own son who would be the 'chosen one' but I have to say that this pleases me just as well. I am sorry to put you through all this but understand that I need you to find the vanishing isle, which in turn to find the ultimate power on top of that tower. Of course, I'm already aware that you already know the old legend almost as well as I do."

Yugi shook his head slowly, "Why?" he asked. "I don't understand why it was me? I don't understand what you need me to do!"

Yami's father slowly turned to look at him in the eye. "You are much more important than you know my dear boy. And you will soon see the part that you play in this story. You and my son both will understand the parts that you have to play before the end of this journey."

Yugi couldn't even look at this man anymore. He just looked at the deck, shaking his head as he continued to cry. "Why?" he asked again. "Why did you turn out this way? How could you do it?"

Yami's father raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Do what?" he asked in a harsh voice.

"Do this…" said Yugi raising his head and staring wildly around him. "What kind of person would do all this? Do all this to his son? How could a father hurt his own child in such a way to make them hate their own father? Do all this… hit their own family… kidnap… torture… all this…? You're a monster… don't you see it?"

He turned his head to look at Yami who was still out of it, "You just love to watch other people suffer don't you? Yami told me what happened. What had happened to your family… and it wasn't Yami's fault. What happened wasn't his or your fault but you continue to hurt Yami forcing him to run from this pain. And you continue to do so knowing that he's in pain but you don't seem to care…"

He took a deep breath and forced his eyes to look him in the eye. The look in Yami's father's face was unreadable.

"Why?" he asked wanting to know the answer. "Hasn't he paid enough? Haven't both of you paid enough already?"

The look on Yami's face turned from unreadable to a deep burning rage. "You're lucky that I need you or I would kill you right here and now!" he walked a few steps away before stopping to say, "as soon as I get what I want… I'm leaving you on the isle… as soon as this whole deal is over… you're history. As soon as I know for sure that I don't need you anymore… you're gone. But keep talking then I might have to reconsider my resolve!"

He marched away, as if he couldn't get far enough from him fast enough, and he walked to the stern and yelled out to the crew of men, "Raise the anchor, fluff the sails, and make ready. We make way for the vanishing isle… we make way for the ultimate treasure!"

The anchor was raised, the sails opened and the strong wind picked up immediately, almost violently. They were on their way towards the vanishing isle… under different circumstances this would have been one of the coolest things he'd ever done… if he and Yami weren't in so much trouble… and if he wasn't crying so hard for the pain that was in store for them.


	14. Dark Memories

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 14-Dark Memories

Yami was really out of it. When he was slammed against the ground he must have hit one of the many rocks that were scattered all over the beach. He was drifting in and out of dreamland once again; barely even realizing that he was being carried towards the living nightmare called a boat. He couldn't see anymore but he did know that he was thrown on the floor of the deck like a side of beef, and then thrown up against the mast and being tied with chains.

As soon as he hit the deck he felt a terrible pain, a great sadness flow through him like a river breaking through the dam. He wasn't sure if he was feeling it from the ship or his own pain, but the pain he was feeling was so extreme that he fell even deeper into the darkness.

He could hear a soft cry against him, but his brain felt so fogged over that he couldn't make out whose voice it was. He then felt hands seize him and shoved him against something very hard while he heard another whimper right beside him. That final slam against his head was what knocked him out once again. He dreamt of his past once again…

… of the day he ran away.

* * *

He had enough of the pain his father had given him since the day that mom died. All of his punishments, both mentally and physically, were harsh—but nothing compared to what his father did one day.

He had just woken up after a particularly painful beating from his father and he had gone to bed with a back covered in bruises and awoke to see the sun rising in the eastern sky. He stretched out like a cat before getting up and prepared for the day ahead.

Yami outside to see to get some fresh air, that's when he spotted something usual. His father was running round to the back of the house; he was hurrying as if he was hoping that no one would spot him. Burning with a curiosity that always got him into trouble; he quietly snuck around to the corner of the house and very quietly poked his head around the corner. He saw his father's back to him, talking to a man in a black cloak, they were talking…

"… told you before. He's not the one that we're looking for. But make no mistake he has some kind of future connection to the one that we're looking for," said the man in the cloak.

"What kind of connection?" his father asked almost angrily. "All this time you had me thinking that he's the one that we needed, and now you say that you found the real one?"

The man in the black cloak shrugged, "It's not my fault. I'm just doing what I'm told to do alright? I'm just letting you know that are plans are still on, we just needed another person. The only problem is getting to him. It will take some time for he lives farther away than we had first planned. But things haven't changed; we just need to wait a little bit longer. But I do see that your little brat will be playing a bigger part in this then we first thought."

_"Me? Play a bigger part than what?"_ thought Yami confused. _"What the heck were they talking about?"_

"Look," the man in the dark cloak went on, "Everything will go according to plan, we just need the…" he suddenly stopped talking. The man looked over his father's shoulder and straight at Yami. Yami knew that he was busted big time… his father turned to see his son barely looking out at them from the corner. He face turned beet red, a pulse in his neck began to stick out, and his face was that of pure fury. He strolled over, his eyes hard and he was messing with something behind his back.

"What are you doing here?" questioned his father. Yami took a step backwards and fell over his own feet, "I didn't see anything, father," he said quickly. Suddenly he felt a strong, piecing sting on his left shoulder blade. He grasped his shoulder in pain; when he doubled over in agony, he felt a foot kick him hard in the ribs. As he rolled he felt a couple of his ribs break.

"Get up, Yami," said his father.

Yami carefully got up onto his legs. He felt the heat of the blood coming from his left shoulder. He did not say a word because he knew that his father would whip him again. His father then grabbed him by his throat and pulled him so closely to his face that Yami could smell his disgusting breath. "If you breathe a word of this to anyone…" he hissed so dangerously that Yami could feel fear in every part of his body. "Just one word… and your next punishment—will be you final punishment." He then threw him back on the ground. He left Yami on the ground moaning, and holding his ribs as he and the other man left to go into the house.

After five minutes, he was able to push himself to his feet. The pain was so intense that he could hardly see anymore, and he immediately fell back to the ground. He lay there, each breath was more painful then the last.

He wondered if there was a way to kill himself before his father came back. As he stood up, he winched in pain. His back felt like it was on fire from the mornings whipping. The wounds had re-opened and where now bleeding freely. He couldn't take it anymore. He was not going to stay here for another minute.

He was still young, but he knew enough that if he stayed here any longer then his father would one day kill him. He had to get out of this house… now.

He leaned against the side of the house as he tried to figure out what he was going to do and where he was going to go. Well, the first thing that he had to do was deal with these injuries. And for that he needed…

… Ishizu.

The young girl who lived in the woods with her brothers. She was always so kind to him and did whatever she could to help him whenever his father was beating him up. Yes, she was his only chance now. He then forced himself to walk. Oh, how he hurt so.

Somehow he made his way, almost crawling down the hill where he and his father lived. Somehow he was able to make his way into the town without drawing too much attention. Somehow he was able to reach the woods where Ishizu lived. However, his strength left him—just outside the wood—he leaned up against a tree as the pain finally won—and he did the only natural thing.

He fell into the darkness.

* * *

Yami felt something soft under his fingertips. _'This feels like silk," _he thought_, "It's nice—wait a minute, father doesn't have silk sheets and even if he did he wouldn't let me lay on them.'_

He slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurry but his vision cleared up in a matter of minutes. The first thing he saw was the moonlight coming in from a small window a little ways up and across from him. His eyes then landed on a small bowl filled with water, and a rag on a table right besides him. It was then that he realized that he was lying on a very soft feather bed; Yami reached his hand to scratch an itch on his back but he felt a smooth blend of cotton, instead of the rough cotton his father always made him wear. He looked down at his chest to see a clean white tunic shirt. _'Somebody changed my clothes… Where am I?' _Yugi thought.

Something strange also registered in his mind. His shoulder and ribs weren't killing him anymore; at least when he was lying down, he was sure that they were going to hurt more when he sat up. Slowly he left up the shirt to see that someone had tended to his wounds. He let the material fall from his hand. Before Yami could contemplate his situation any further there was a knock on the door.

And then a young girl with long black hair approached him.

"Hello Yami," The girl said in a gentle tone. "I'm glad to see that you awake. You had me worried for awhile."

"Ishizu?" Yugi said in a quiet voice. Ishizu smiled at him. "Yami I need you to role on to your stomach so I can see how your wounds are doing. What happened? My brother Marik was out gathering firewood and he found you leaning up against a tree. Odion then brought you up here for me to take care of you."

Yami sighed. "I think you already know the answer to that."

"Your father?"

"Who else would do this?"

Yami groaned in pain as he tried to clear his foggy mind. He tried to sit up so that he could look around the room but his ribs were in so much pain that it was impossible. He let out a small grasp and suddenly he felt someone gently putting him back in a laying position "Easy there Yami. Your injuries aren't going to be healed for while."

Yami let go a sigh. "Ishizu?"

Ishizu pulled the wet rag from the bowl and gently dabbed at Yami's forehead. "Yes, Yami?"

"Can I have some water? My throat feels like the desert."

She gave a small smile. "Of course, I'll be back in minute." She left the room.

Yami sighed again before looking out the window. The night sky was clear, he was safe, and as far as Yam was concerned everything was fine for now. He felt his eyelids drupe, and he went into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Yami groaned in pain as he started to awake from his long dream. He could feel the warmth of the afternoon sun on his face and the blankets he was tucked under felt so nice. His mind just wanted to go back to sleep but he was curious as to what had happened to him. The last thing he remembered was going around to the side of the house and then…

"Morning," said a voice.

Ishizu was standing in the doorway with a small tray of food.

"Ishizu?" said Yami confused. Why was she here? And then it all came back to him. His father had hurt him and he came here for help. Ishizu walked over to the bed, placed the tray on the table next to him, and asked, "Can you sit up?"

Yami took a deep breath and force his aching, stiff body up. It hurt—but it wasn't as bad as it had been. Ishizu put her hands on his shoulder and started to change his bandages, "I'm glad. You're healing faster than I hoped for. You gave us a scare."

Yami sat very still as Ishizu took care of his injuries, after awhile he asked her, "Does my father know where I am?"

She froze for a second before saying, "No, he doesn't. But he's furious with you for running off like the way that you did. I heard about it when I went to the market. I'm curious to know why you suddenly took off like that, when you could've left long before."

"I just did what I had to do. And you were the only one I could turn to. I needed help."

"Nevertheless, Yami" said Ishizu. "Running away from our problems never helps. I hope that you will be careful from this point forward. Your father isn't himself anymore. I've heard my fair share of rumors of what he does when he's alone. And I don't even want to think about half of them."

"I tried talking to him plenty of times about him but he just doesn't listen to me anymore."

"Hardly surprising. Your father always did take things too seriously. He should live closer to the earth. Thank goodness you're so different from him."

Ishizu smiled gently at him. "Eat, and then get some rest. You're gonna need it."

* * *

Yami awoke to see the rays of the sun pierce through the pre-dawn sky. The air around him felt cool; he smiled. He stretched his arms out like a cat. His smile widen when he felt no pain coming from his back or ribs. Carefully he pulled up his shirt to see that the bandages that Ishizu had put on him last night were covering up his just about healed shoulder.

He had been here for almost 3 weeks and Ishizu and her brother's did everything they could to help him. But he knew that he couldn't stay here forever. He had decided to leave as soon as he recovered. He knew that if his father ever found out where he went, then who knows what he'll do. The door opened to reveal Ishizu once again carrying a tray full of food. She smiled at Yami. She was very happy with the way his wounds were healing, "Good Morning Yami. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," Yami said as she gently settled that tray on his lap, "My wounds are feeling much better, and I don't feel any pain at all."

"That's wonderful! I still want to check on them, just to be sure that they are fully healed."

Yami nodded while he drank some fruit juice. He finished his meal within fifteen minutes. When he was done, Ishizu took the tray and Yami rolled over on to his stomach. She gently peeled away the bandages. The wounds were indeed fully healed but sadly the lasted set of whip marks on his shoulder stood out brightly as new scars on his back. Ishizu looked sadly down at her patience; she knew that the remainder of his scars would always be there. Most would fade with time but not all of them.

"You can roll over on your back now. Your wounds are fully healed Yami."

Yami smiled brightly at her. She smiled back but it quickly faded. "Yami, what are you going to do now?" she asked as he got up.

Yami didn't answer for a moment, "I can't stay here, Ishizu. You know that right? I'm grateful for everything that you and your brothers have done for me these last few weeks—but if my father found out where I am—he said that my next punishment would be—my final punishment." He looked back at her and saw her sad expression.

"I knew you were going to say that," was all she could say. They were silent for a moment before she got up and said, "Well, we should get you prepared. My brothers are off on another trip and they won't be back for awhile. You know how they leave for weeks on end."

Yami turned his head from her; "Thank you" was all he could say.

She helped him pack a small sack of a pair of extra clothes, food, a small water sack, and a map that a little kid could read. (Which was good seeing how he was a little kid)

She walked with him to the outside of the woods, far from the village, but close enough to the open road. "Just follow this road and it'll get you out of here no problem. I can't say where you'll end up yet though."

"This is fine Ishizu," he turned to her face to face. "Thank you again for everything that you and your family did for me. Please say goodbye to your brothers for me when they get back."

"Can do," she said simply. She hugged him hard for a moment before whispering in his ear, "Always remember, Yami. We each have our own destiny. Each one of us has a destiny that's different and special. I hope that you find yours. Good luck."

He hugged her back though still not sure that he understood what she meant. He walked down the road only looking back once to see Ishizu in the distance waving goodbye. He waved back and continued on; after walking for a while he turned to look back again—but he was so far off that if she was still there—he couldn't see her.

While he walked he thought on what she said to him. 'We each have our own destiny… one that's different and special…' was that true? If it is then he guessed what his was. First he lost his mother, then his father, his home, everything he ever knew… maybe it was his destiny to be alone.

* * *

Yami's memories of the last year came through his mind. The day he met that women on the horse—the next day when he met Yugi—the few days at the spring—every adventure they had together after they left. And he knew that he really did misunderstand what Ishizu said to him.

It wasn't his destiny to be alone… it was to get him and Yugi out of this trouble… find Swiftflight… and to become as free as the wind is one day. It wasn't going to be easy… but then again no one said it was going to be. He felt that he had become a stronger person since the day that he met Yugi, there were plenty of time that he wanted to give up; but instead the two of them fought on together as team.

There was no way that he was going to let this whole experience be for nothing. And there was no way that he was going to let Yugi down now. He was going to find a way—somehow.

His memories faded—he felt sore and tired all over. He then remembered—he had been knocked out again. He opened his eyes—he was tied to the mast of the ship that he saw—and next to him, as always, was Yugi.

Yami blinked a few times to clear them, and to get a grip on what was going on.

"Yugi?" he whispered.


	15. Plagued Ship

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 15-Swiftflight/Plagued Ship

"Yugi?" he whispered.

Yugi's head popped up immediately. He turned towards Yami. "Yami" he exclaimed quietly. "I was so worried. You've been out cold for most of the day."

Yami blinked a few more times until his eyes adjusted to the light. He was tied to the mast, right besides Yugi, in chains. Boy they weren't taking any chances on having them try to escape. "What's going on?" he asked Yugi quietly.

Yugi shook his head, "I don't know. They keep arguing with each other; none of these guys seem to be smarter than a dog. You should've seen them earlier—half of them don't know what to do without having someone yelling orders at them. But I do know that they know where they're going."

Yami looked around at the plagued ship and the water surrounding them. He couldn't see any land at all. It was just them surrounded by a large puddle of water.

"Just where are we going?" he asked himself more than Yugi.

"To the Vanishing Isle," said Yugi almost bitterly.

"I know that," said Yami rolling his eyes. "I mean where exactly are we going? Just how far is the Vanishing Isle? And why do they need you to find it? How are they going to find it? I mean it's not like you know where it is… doing you?"

Yugi shook his head. "No. And I've been trying to tell these guys that ever since they tied us to the mast. I keep asking why they need me but they just grunt and walk off." It was then that Yami heard a slight grumbling coming from his stomach. When was the last time that they had eaten?

Yugi must have heard it too because he said, "Don't tell them you're hungry. I said that I was and they shoved something slimy and gross down my throat. My mouth still tastes like…" he shuttered at whatever he was thinking. "Believe me. Going hungry is better than eating whatever they have cooking."

"I'll take your word for it, Yugi," said Yami in disgust. What do they have planned for them?

"Now, now Yami," said a voice that he knew all too well. "That would be telling wouldn't it?" what do you know? Dear old dad just made an appearance. He walked over smiling to the captive boys and asked them, "Are you in pain son?" in a silky voice.

That alone was what did it. "Yeah," he said with as much hatred he could muster. "Yes, I'm in great pain and it's all coming from you. The only way that I can find peace is if your head was cut off, and then had a stake through your heart, then had it burned and only then could my pain stop."

Yugi was looking at him in surprise. He had never heard Yami say such awful things before. Not that he blamed him this time.

"I see that you never learned manners while you were away," said dad calmly.

"I'm a survivor. That pretty much cancels out good manners."

"You never learn."

"That depends on who's teaching."

"Boss!" his father turned and one of the boys came over with a dazed look on his face. "We are on schedule, and we should be there by morning tomorrow."

"Excellent!" he said. "Keep on this course." When the guy didn't move; dad added, "Get back to work."

"Oh, yes sir," he stuttered stupidly. He ran off. Yugi was right—these guys don't know what they're doing half the time without having someone bark orders. Where did his father get these losers?

"I swear," his father said shaking his head and holding his hand to his temple as if he had a headache (which he probably did to) "You cant find good help these days. These boys always get lost in their own minds."

"Like you do all the time? You know the only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory."

His father gave him another dangerous look. "Careful Yami," he hissed through gritted teeth. "Unless you want to spend the rest of the trip with your eyes closed then I suggest that you shut up." He looked from Yami to Yugi and back again before adding, "We need your friend alive but no one said anything about you." And without another word he strode away from them and headed to the wheel.

"I hate when he does that," hissed Yami.

"Yami," whispered Yugi. He sounded scared. "Please be careful with what you say. I don't want to see you get hurt anymore." Yugi sniffed.

Yami felt sick to his stomach. He hated to make Yugi feel bad because of him. "Don't worry, Yugi," he said soothingly. "We're gonna be alright. We're gonna get out of here; we just need to wait for the right moment."

"When will that be?" asked Yugi desperately.

"I don't know yet," said Yami honestly. "But we'll know it when we see it. I can just feel it. Until then just be strong; and I promise to try and keep my mouth shut."

Yugi nodded, looking a little bit better. _'I hope that you aren't making a promise that you can't keep, Yami. We're in big trouble here. Bigger than anything else we've ever been in,'_ he thought to himself.

_'I hope that I'm not making a promise that I can't keep,"_ thought Yami to himself._" We're in big trouble here. Bigger than anything else we've ever been in.' _he let out a soft sigh. He was going to get them out of here no matter what it takes… even if the bad guy was his own father.

* * *

Onwards they sailed in the calm weather. Neither Yugi nor Yami said too much because they didn't want to risk any of the men overhearing them. The best that they could do was give each other hopeful glances and small smiles. They watched the sun slowly set and the darkness took them and the boat. So now it's not bad enough that they're tied to a mast in chains, hungry, thirsty, tired, upset, and in pain on a pirate ship with a crew of blood-thirsty pirates. But they're tied to a mast in chains, hungry, thirsty, tired, upset, and in pain on a pirate ship with a crew of blood-thirsty pirates in the dark.

Things couldn't get any worse.

And I really should stop saying that.

Yugi started to doze off while Yami decide to keep watch. It was kinda pointless but he felt better knowing that he could do something to help instead of being tied up. All night he kept watch over his friend as watched the crew with the dirtiest looks he could manage. Most of them just ignored him and left him alone but every once in a while a thug would come over to taunt and make fun of them. of course Yami would reply with the cheekiest answers he could come up with.

"What did you say, runt?"

"I just said that everyone is entitled to be stupid, but you guys are the ones who abuse the privilege."

"So runt, are you applying that we are stupid?"

"I never implied you were stupid; that would be a huge step up for you."

(This went on for most of the night)

"Look, I told you that if I agreed with you we'd both be wrong."

"Why—you—you"

"Wow! Great comeback"

(Yami sure wasn't making friends on this ship)

"A word to the wise isn't necessary; it's you stupid ones who need all the advice."

(This went on till the sun had begun to rise and they were looking forward to getting rid of Yami as soon as they could.)

A gorgeous sunrise began to rise in the east; the sky was all different colors… like a peacock's tail. A strange mist began to cover the sea right in front of them. at first Yami didn't pay too much attention—that is until the legend began to play itself in his mind.

_"Countless kings and people that fought for control of it were angry at the two wizards for locking the ultimate power away, far beyond their reach. They demanded that Merlin and Morgan release its power and give it to them. The wizards refused many times, but they were finally resorted to placing a curse upon the greedy. They were sealed into the magical mist surrounding the island itself, so instead of gaining the ultimate power, they would be cursed to guard it until the time that a chosen one would come and rightfully claim it." _

They were close now… but wait… they need the flying ship… so why would they sail to a place where they needed a flying ship when they didn't have one… unless… no…

It was then that his father made himself known.

"My brothers! Today is the day! Today we shall finally claim what was destined for us! The Vanishing Isle is in our grasp! For now we hold the keys to finding it!"

Yami felt a deep, boiling anger in the pit of his stomach as he felt Yugi shift uncomfortably.

His father walked forward until he stood in front of them and put his hand under Yugi's chin. "Who would have thought that the key to the greatest gift of mankind would be a little boy?"

"Get away from him!" yelled Yami angrily. His father smiled again before placing his hand under Yami's chin to get a good look at his face. "And who would have thought that my own son would play a part in this in story? if I had known that getting closer to the Vanishing Isle was for you to run away I would have given you all the more reason to take off." Suddenly he turned to the crew, his back to the boys.

"It fell in the ancient periods which the brooding soul surveys, forever cursed by the wizards Merlin and Morgan le Fay. Cursed buy the wild nature of time itself; cursed by the calendar decades and centuries. This was the lapse of men, which in Paradise fell. The wizards made themselves the laws of form, and with low tones they decided to lock the power that was given to the hands of humans. And doubtless they locked away this power, the power that was meant for humans, and unreachable by ships."

His crew let out loud boos and cries of rage, as Yami's father spoke again with piercing eyes, a shudder ran around the sky. "The stern of old war-gods shook their heads in rage; the seraphs frowned from beneath the sky; all angry toward the foolish wizards who took away the power that was meant to be ours. The balance-beam of Fate was bent; the bounds of good and evil were rent; all slid to confusion. A sad self-knowledge withering fell on the beauty of the power. Well we are here to correct that mistake! We are going to take back what was meant for ours! We have the key to claiming what should have been in the hands of humans from the beginning!" he ended his speech in a triumph voice, Yami had to hand it to his father; he always knew how to get a crowd on his side.

"We have traveled north and with the magic we had discovered we found the ship and transformed it! Thanks to me and all others who have leant a hand in my goals; the once glorious Swiftflight! Is now the Plagued Ship!"

No… Yami was right… they were on Swiftflight… his father had polluted it… changed it… turned something beautiful… into something so ugly and frightful…

He looked at Yugi who was staring back, his wide amethyst eyes fearful. Yugi was scared now; Yami knew that he was scared before—but this was a different kind of fear—the kind that took away all hope. And Yami could feel himself beginning to fall into that same fear…

"Forward into the mist!" yelled his father. "Our prize is close at hand!"

Yami was all numb; he couldn't think straight. What were they going to do? He couldn't see a way out of this. Even if they do escape—what next? They would be stuck on the Vanishing Isle—no way they could get out this mess. He looked up in time to see a solid wall of mist in front of them… and they were heading straight for it.

"Yami?" whispered Yugi so quietly that Yami was sure at first if Yugi had spoken. "Yami? I just want to let you know that no… no matter… no matter what happens here I don't blame you for any of this. None of this is your fault I know that better than anyone."

Yugi looked up at him and gave him a small smile. Yami turned his face away—trying to rid himself of the tears that were forming in his eyes.

The ship sailed closer… closer… closer… until… they had entered the mist and everything had faded from view.

* * *

The mist was so thick that you couldn't see anything in front of you. If Yami hadn't been tied to the mast, he could have raised his hand to his face and not have seen anything. The only thing that kept him from going insane was Yugi's quiet, though deep, breathing right beside him. How the crew could work a ship when they can't even see what's going on, Yami didn't know. He just hoped that they could get out of this mist as soon as possible.

That's when things began to changed… and not for the better.

The white fog had changed; it was still as thick as before but now it had changed to a black, almost smoke color. It began to twinkle as if there were little fairy lights sparkling everywhere; he began to hear voices… the voices of both the crew beginning to panic… and the voices of another…

These voices sounded almost human—but it was like they were mixed with unearthly voice. The sound was both mesmerizing—and terrifying. He couldn't breathe, he felt sick, like he was gonna pass out. He felt as if everything was closing in around him; as if the mist was slowly trying to choke him. The mist began to rumbling; as if it was teeming with rain. The ocean's water became swollen and fierce in its flow. The water began hitting the boat—twisting and swirling everywhere. It was the most horrible feeling he could ever have imagined. It was like he could hear every little noise coming from miles around. That the tiniest splash sounded like a crash, that the wind sounded like a roar. Waves break violently against the boat on each side.

Yami couldn't take it, he closed his eyes, he needed air, he needed to get out of there—he was wishing that someone would come and knock him out again just for a chance to escape this torture. Nothing was worth this. Nothing. He just wanted it all to stop—and then…

… it did.

As quickly as it had come; it had disappeared. Yami started taking deep breaths, filling his lungs with much needed air. He could feel the air around him as he felt the smothering air disappearing, he could feel sunshine on his face, he could taste the salty air—for a moment he was light-headed before he came to his senses.

He opened his eyes…

… and what he saw would shock and amaze him for the rest of his life… which might not be that long.


	16. We Reach the Vanishing Isle

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 16-We Reach the Vanishing Isle

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**Look, I love getting reviews on my stories, but I'm in college, I can't spend all my time writing stories. I promise to update whenever I can; but can you all stop asking me to update? If you all want to write me reviews then plz do! I love getting your reviews but I would like it if you all would stop saying plz update soon. I'm going as fast as I can but I have to take my time to make sure that's good. Plz enjoy chapter 16 and I'll have 17 up as soon as possible. ****Plz write, every review helps me into writing more and more...**

* * *

What Yami saw is almost impossible to describe. Imagine standing in the center of a giant cylinder made of clouds. The water that they were sailing on was calm and as smooth as glass, there was a giant wall that was made of clouds spinning around them as they sailed onward. When you looked straight up you could see clear blue skies, and dazzling sunshine that seemed to wave at them like an old friend. But all of this paled in comparison to what was in the very center of this cylinder.

It was a tower… a tower with faded, stone brick standing in the middle of a small island. It loomed over the small ship, as they sailed over the calm sea. A giant tower standing on an island beyond the cursed mist; it was thought to be only a story. Though it wasn't a lighthouse, a strong light emitted from the very upper reaches, a light so strong that it could pierce the darkest night.

Stretching up almost endlessly into the sky, as a wind gently blew around the spiraling structure, ancient glyphs of the ages readily cut into the aged ivory, some potently faded; others in glistening sharply. The tower spiraled into the heavens, rather like an Earthlike landmass challenging the occasionally gentle skyline.

Were a drop to fall back into the silent, alive waters of the ancient safe keep, brushed away from the roaring outskirts of time and humanity-it would readily ripple into the distance, fading away miles into the equidistance. The overflowing blue sky was rather like a sea of itself, stretched languidly across the sky in baby blue splendor-with the dazzling sun peeking over the broad range of the cream clouds, making the stone glisten slightly in the early afternoon splendor.

Waterfalls, gallons, enormous tokens of the crystalline liquid-spilled from the enormous stone, rather like a forever flowing moat constantly gushing protectively around the faded rock. The tower itself spiraled into the heavens, a ready, pale, sandy sheen of gold, rather like that of the whitewashed sand gleaming hotly in the ready sun finding the sallow limestone. The color, at best, was warm. Aged, like a wise specter, or a guru walking Buddha's road-it was still elegant, still peculiar, yet still mysterious. It was spiraling with hundreds, if not thousands of windows climbing the tower—and at the very top—was the shining light like a lighthouse.

The shaping volume was unusual, at best. Thin, with spirals stretching uncharacteristically in the carefully structured building, well crafted into an almost gothic temple of the ages-it readily shone with its warm wetness, glistening proudly-rather like that of a medallion that has at last fond shore. Yami could see a large courtyard with the largest fountain that he had ever seen.

The cylinder of clouds, slowly and silently swept over crystalline, sapphire waters. The only sounds were the occasional squawk of a seagull-the only other living creature to pass over this otherwise silent terrain; which was only broken by waves gently hitting the shore of the island.

But otherwise, the tranquility was not broken.

It was a tower on a distant shore… and about its peak, a piercing light.

To say that Yami was speechless would be the understatement of the century. Never once in his life did he ever think that he would set eyes on something like this. She couldn't take his eyes of the tower as they sailed closer and closer; he was too amazed to speak… he didn't think that anything else could ever top this moment…

…once again he stood corrected.

The ship began to rock violently… he heard a terrible cracking sound, as if he the boat was about to crack open and then… with a sudden great gust of wind the ship began to rise higher, and higher, and higher…

…until they had risen clear up and out of the water. The legend wasn't just a legend after all. His father wasn't lying after—this was Swiftflight.

The feeling he had was impossible to describe. It was both wonderful… and terrifying. He could feel the wind whip around his face, the sound of it was in his ears—he was actually flying! Something that he never dreamt that he would have been able to do—except in his dreams.

They flew over a wide area of water; he didn't understand why they didn't just sail to the isle. "That's because there are sharp rocks right beneath us."

His father had walked over to Yami without him noticing it. Yami gave his father another dirty look before his father went on, "That is why we needed this ship. If we tried to sail through the water, the rocks would destroy the ship and we won't have a hope of getting back." He gave his son an ugly smile before saying, "I finally figured out what to do with you and your friend. Once we get what we want then we're gonna leave you here on the isle. You and your friend will sit on the beach and watch as we sail away with our prize. You two will have the rest of your lives to think about the grim horror of your futures. Sounds like fun right?"

He walked off cackling. "You know Yugi?" said Yami. "I really hate him."

Onwards they sailed though the sky, passing right over the dagger like rocks, until they settled down gently near the shore.

Yami's father then barked at a few members of the ship to untie Yami and Yugi; and if they tried to run away… they were to knock them out. Not that there was anywhere to go. They unlocked to two boys from the mast and forced them to walk down the plank that they set ashore. Yami's father took the lead, with his son being forced to walk behind him, and Yugi right behind Yami.

As soon as they reached the foot of the shore, Yami stumbled and fell. What do you know? He got his sea legs at the cost of his land legs. His father grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and forced him back up; he then shoved Yami ahead of him

The surrounding air was heavy; it rested on them – engulfed them. But its weight wasn't oppressive; it is a comforting embrace. It was thick and they couldn't walk through it, so they would lie in the grass.

He looked around at his surroundings. Merely a beach, but looking deeper... is a different thing altogether. Yami looked once more, and heard the silent echo of the lifeless sea, as if it had sucked out the souls of nearby creatures, as if it was a forever-hungering beast, relentlessly pounding the beach with no remorse. The sand between his toes felt dead, lusting for the warmth of the Sun. It's odd blackish color contemplating with the fact that this was a lifeless beach. The smell was pungent of seaweed, as if an essence of it was part of the very air, and growing like a tree every second. The tower in front of him was seamless, untouched, as if just erected; as the echo stopped, he heard another sound, a sound so surprising, yet fall of beauty and horror… a seagull.

The sun beat down on the smooth, weathered rocks of the tower. The crisp seaweed pushed onto the rocks by the waves, lay forgotten at the sea's edge, occasionally moving with the tide. The sapphire, blue sea's waves rattle the tiny pebbles embedded in the golden sand. The foam from the waves gently, though almost dully lapped upon the shore.

Yami's body was wishing for sleep, but his mind was restless. One worrisome thing after another was traveling through his head. But he could still feel, a constant lurking feeling of excitement, hoping against hope that their greatest hopes would come true. That they would get out of this mess somehow.

The crew then shoved him hard in the back and forced him to walk forward. They walked through the sand an upwards; climbing the cliffs. They weren't that steep, but if you weren't careful Yami was sure that someone could get seriously hurt. Onward they climbed, Yami's legs and arms hurt, his head felt like it was about to explode, he just wanted to lie down and cry himself to sleep.

But he still forced himself to climb upwards, trying not to slip on the wet rocks from the waterfalls that continued to fall as if nothing had changed. Which was true; the isle hadn't changed except for the humans pillaging so sacred a place.

* * *

After hours of climbing, Yugi, Yami, and the whole crew were exhausted. The only one who had any energy was Yami's father; who seem to be getting his energy from out of thin air, because he just kept on going… so bent on the idea of reaching the tower. Finally they climbed over the edge of the cliffs and onto solid, flat ground… the courtyard.

It was a giant courtyard of stone and grass, there were the remains of walls and broken pillars scattered every which way. The stone walkway they were on was cracked and had broken, grey, stone bricks that looked like they'd been burned by a tremendous fire. There were high-statues made of the same stone, but they looked like a something big has knocked them over… which have been eroded away by the yearly torrential rains over the centuries.

In the center of the courtyard there was a massive fountain that's shaped perfectly like a dragon. The body was large, the scales sculpted by a true artist, the face is remarkable so realistic that it looked like its eyes really staring at you. The mouth and teeth were made of a solid silver, the wings were open and, if Yami didn't know better, it looked like the stone dragon was about to take flight.

The dragon fountain commands everyone's attention, Yami couldn't seem to look away, it looked like the dragon was breathing and swayed on its stone platform! Behind that… was a great wooden door. It must have been at least 20 feet high, so high that Yami had to lean his head far back just to see the top arch.

On the cracked, aged archway that governed the enormous structure escalating into the horizontal towers conjuring the larger, mother tower, there, worn by the constant salt and sea breeze of the ages, was a series of words mysteriously craved into the old mineral-!

_Leave behind the dark, to enter the light.  
Beyond here, lies power. Here be fright.  
Beyond here, the dragon, flame and flight.  
Beyond here, pure fire, here be grief.  
Harmful to all but those of pure belief.  
Beware the creeping treasure-thief.  
Beware much worse the dragon-slayer.  
Beware his purse and curse his payer.  
Beware these words. Preserve their sayer.  
Earth and water, fire and air.  
Prepare to meet a creature rare.  
Enter, now, if you dare._

_Enter, now... the dragon's lair!_

It wasn't until he saw the statue and read the words here did he remember… Miasmador!

"Stop!" he yelled. "Did you all forget about Miasmador? He's a dragon! He guards the treasure! We can't stop a dragon! Let's go while we still have a chance!"

His father laughed. "Normally, you would be right, Yami. But Miasmador will only appear if we fail to make it to the top!" he turned his attention back to the top of the tower, to where the light was shining brightly. "To make it to the top; we must pass each one of the floors, each will have a riddle to solve, if we guess it right then we will be allowed to proceed."

"And if we get it wrong?" asked Yami going very numb.

His father gave him another smile that sent chills up his spine, "We're about to find out." he walked forward, ignoring the warning, and knocked twice…

…for one second Yami prayed that the door wouldn't open… but then the giant, aged doors slowly creaked open…


	17. First Floor Bane of the Mariner

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 17- First Floor - Bane of the Mariner

* * *

The group stepped into a dark room, room that was big enough to fit in several large huts without any problems. The only light came from the open door behind them, and through the many windows above them. And yet it was so dark in front of them that they couldn't see anything.

Yugi walked along the elaborate, pale tiles as he tried to see in front of him. But he may as well have tried to grow wings and fly away. It was so dark, that he didn't have a hope of seeing anything in front. The men holding him forced him forward; he took another step when… the door behind them shut as if a powerful wind had come through. Now he, Yami, and the crew were all trapped in the dark…

Suddenly, a light began to shine from beneath his feet, he looked down to see words beginning to appear in a tiles. The words all began to cress-cross and overlap each other until, written in a deep fire, color, the words spelled out:

_Lighter than what I am made of,_

_More of me am hidden than is seen,_

_I am the bane of the mariner,_

_A tooth within the sea._

_Speak my name._

Yugi had no idea what the riddle meant… until he felt water lapping at his ankles. The tower was beginning to flood… it began to rise… the men behind him begin to panic… they dropped him and started running around in circles. Yugi stood up and the water had risen up to his chest and continued to rise at an unnatural rate. He felt a familiar pair of hands on his shoulders, as the water began to swell and he was struggling to remain afloat. "Hold your breath," cried out Yami's voice and Yugi did what he was told. He took a deep breath as a wave came and swept over them.

He and Yami were underwater when Yugi opened his eyes. He could see the images of the crew swimming, or rather floundering, around him. The stone floor had disappeared and he felt Yami grab his hand and begin to pull him up. He felt as if his lungs were going to pop as he closed his eyes and let Yami continue to pull drag him towards the surface. He kicked desperately, he couldn't breathe, he needed air, and reached out with the one arm that wasn't holding onto Yami.

Just when he was beginning to think that there wasn't any surface he felt his head break past the water. He was taken deep breaths, trying to get as much as the life-giving air as he could, when he opened his eyes again he wasn't staring at the ceiling as he thought he was… he was staring up at the sky.

The sea water was up to his neck and he struggled to draw breath. "What's going on?" he cried as he felt Yami holding onto him, making sure that the waves didn't him away. The tower was gone, while he and Yami were both in the middle of the ocean, fighting to stay afloat. The waves were turbulent and the sky was gray, covered with storm clouds, and the wind was blowing so hard that it felt like razor-sharp knifes were cutting into his face.

"Yami! What's going on?" cried Yugi again.

"I don't know!" Yami shouted back. "How did we get back out into the ocean? And where did the tower go?" He took in a big gulp of seawater as he said that. Yugi merely held onto him and started to paddle out.

Imagine trying to stay afloat in the middle of a hurricane, infreezing water, in the pouring rain, without lifejackets, at night. Good now you know what it must have been like for them. Every once in awhile a huge wave would come and sweep over them. They would sink a few feet and then be tossed around like a couple socks in the washing machine before going back up for air. Onwards they swam, trying to find some kind of glimmer of hope; but things kept turning from bad to worse.

Yugi suddenly went back under and he didn't come back up.

"YUGI!" yelled Yami as he dived down to find him. The water was so dark that he could hardly make anything out… until he spotted a small hand sinking deeper. He swam down; ignoring the stabbing pain that he was feeling in this icy water, and grabbed the hand. He then pulled up as fast as he could, as he felt that he was about to pass out.

When he broke through, he pulled up a very tired and weak Yugi along with him. "YUGI!" he yelled. "COME ON YUGI! OPEN YOUR EYES! DON'T GIVE UP ON ME NOW!" Yugi did as he was told, but he could only open them halfway as he looked into Yami's own panic-stricken eyes.

"Yami," he croaked out. The waves were so loud that Yami could barely hear him. "I can't…"

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Yami yelled again. "WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE! JUST HOLD ON! THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DOING WRONG!" he saw Yugi's lips move again, but he couldn't hear the words as another wave washed over them.

When they next came up, Yugi said, a little louder this time, "Riddle!"

Yami was looking at him as if he had finally lost his mind. "Riddle? Why do you want to hear a riddle now?" he asked exasperatedly. He was about to try to talk some sense into him when Yugi spoke again, "No, before the tower filled up with water… a riddle appeared on the floor. You were behind me so you probably couldn't see it." Yugi's eyes lit up when he said those words and some kind of hidden strength seemed to come back to him. He started to paddle by himself again, Yami was able to let him go, but kept his hand tight onto Yugi's.

"This is magic!" yelled Yugi in triumph. "Merlin and Morgan le Fay put in hidden traps in the tower! Remember the legend! The riddle I saw before on the floor was probably the key to solving all of this.

"Wait?" Yami yelled back as another wave came over. "So you're saying that if we just solve the riddle then we'll be saved?"

"You have a better idea?" Yugi cried as they went under again; which was actually a good thing this time. He was able to think without having a storm raging on in his ears. he closed his eyes and tried as hard as he could to remember the words that were on the floor before the water came and swallowed them.

_"Lighter than… what I am made of," _wasthe first line… but what was the next?_ "More of me… is… what?" they came up for air again. _"Yugi!" shouted Yami. "I hope you figure out that riddle… and soon!" Yugi knew that he was right. He had no idea how much longer that they could last out here. _"More of me… am hidden than is seen!"_ he figured out the second line!

They both went under again. The waves were getting stronger and colder; Yugi figured that they only had a few minutes left. He had to remember the rest of that riddle if they were to ever get out of here.

_"Lighter than what I am made of, more of me am hidden than is seen… I am… I am the bane of the mariner…"_ he was doing good, just two more lines. The fourth line… it had something to do with the sea he knew that much but what was it?

But he then realized that he had bigger problems… his hands had grown so numb from the cold that he couldn't hold onto anything—not even Yami's hand. He felt his hand get retched from Yami and the swirling tides were pulling them apart.

"YAMI!" cried Yugi as he watched as his closest friend was being swept away. _"A tooth within the sea!"_ the line suddenly came flowing into his mind. He had to figure out that riddle here and now if he was going to save himself and Yami. A wave came again, and he was once more, underwater. He had to do it now—he had the lines he just needed to focus.

_Lighter than what I am made of,_

_More of me am hidden than is seen,_

_I am the bane of the mariner,_

_A tooth within the sea._

_Speak my name._

What is lighter than it's made of, more that is hidden than you can see, can harm the mariner, and is a tooth within the sea…

He felt himself sinking… he was too weak to swim anymore… he felt himself sinking… as he sank deeper into the darkness something had happened.

He got it… he knew what it was… the answer had come to him out of nowhere…

With his last ounce of breath he cried out "_ICE!"_ and he heard and saw no more…

* * *

_"Yugi!"_

_"Yugi!"_

Someone was calling him… he felt warm and safe wherever he was… what was that shaking him?

"Yugi! Wake up!" shouted the familiar voice. Yugi did as he was told and saw that the thing that was shaking him was Yami. Yami was pale and soaked wet as he looked down at him with in confusion. "Yami?" he said weakly. "Where are we? What happened?"

Yami lifted his small body up and gave him such a strong hug, Yugi thought that his ribs would break. "Yo… you… g… got the rid… rid…riddle," croaked out Yami through chattering teeth. Yugi's memories came back to him… he remembered the riddle and was able to guess the answer. He looked around him, over Yami's shoulder; they were back inside the tower. Yami had let go, but still had to hold Yugi's head up, he didn't realize just how much that water had taken out of his friend. They were both still soaking wet, freezing, and so tired that they didn't want to move. But Yami could see that Yugi was in really bad shape.

His lips were blue, he was drenched to the bone, he was shaking, his eyes were glazed over, he was so weak that Yami didn't think that he could move, and Yami could tell that he was having trouble breathing. "Yugi?" he asked as he held up his head gently. "Are you ok?"

_'No, of course he's not ok,'_ he thought to himself. _'He's in almost as bad shape as he was a few weeks ago.' _But this time he didn't have Ishizu here to help him out. He was on his own… or so he thought.

"Well done boys," said the voice that had caused all of this. Yami whirled around on his knees to give his father a look so menacing that even demons would have run from. His father was standing there with a handful of his crew; they were all soaked wet and shivering which meant that they were also stuck in that sea.

His father wringed out his sleeve as he walked over to them. Yami held Yugi closer to him and snarled, "Get away from us! What just happen?!"

"Isn't if obvious?" his father asked coolly. "We just pass the first trial."

"What trial?"

"The trial of the tower," answered his father calmly. "Each floor will have a challenge for us to solve. It judges a person. If they are worthy to claim the prize at the top of the tower, then you will be able to make it to the top."

"And if we fail it test?" snapped back Yami.

"If you are not worthy then you become a part of the mist that guards the sacred isle," replied his father as if he was answering what the weather would be like tomorrow. He looked around him at his crew who were all shaking, and not just from the cold. "I can see that some of our members have been claimed by the magic surrounding the isle. No matter, we continue onwards."

"You really are insane aren't you?" Yami asked in amazement. "We were almost all killed and it was just the first floor! It's bound to get worst the more we move up!"

His father just rubbed his hands together and said, "I know…"

* * *

**_Sorry, I know that it's not my longest chapter. And sorry that it's taken so long; but I've had essays and reports to do. Listen though, there's gonna be a few more floors that they have to go through to get to the top. So if anyone has a good riddle, then send it to me with the answer and if I think that it can fit into the story, then it might become a challenge for them to get through! Please tell me what you think of it so far and thank you for sticking with it for this long. I'll try to put it up sooner from now on._**


	18. Second Floor – Up is Down

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 18- Second Floor – Up is Down

"We need to stop!" yelled Yami as he was once again forced to move forward. After the water had disappeared and they were all left safe on the first floor, a pair of stairs had appeared in front of them that lead to the upper level. His father had ordered his men to grab him and Yugi and to start moving up. "Think about what happened on the first floor! It's bound to get worse!"

"Keep quiet you little brat!" yelled one of the men that were holding him down.

"Hello?" yelled Yami as they forced him onwards. "One of you might be next! What's more important to you? Power or your lives?"

The men just ignored him. Why wasn't he surprised?

Yugi was being carried piggy-back by one of the other men up in front, and he appeared to be unconscious. In the last few minutes, his condition had grown worse; but the men just didn't seem to care what happens to the boy as long as they reach the top.

"Yugi's sick!" yelled Yami. "He needs help! Why don't we leave why we still have the chance?"

How come no one else could hear him?

The men might have all been deaf for all the attention that they showed him. You think that almost drowning and freezing to death would have scared them all off. But no… they were all to focus on the prize that was waiting for them upstairs.

Onward they climbed; the men ignored Yami's struggles as he continued to be dragged up step by step. They traveled up… and up… and up…

"Do these stairs ever end?" complained Yami after a while. He was sore, wet, cold, and tired; so can you blame him for being whiny? They must have climbed up at least a 100, more steps before Yami noticed a strange light above them. When he looked up he gasped at what he saw.

Ribbons of light began to shine in midair, just like what happened when they were on the first floor… a riddle appeared in the floor before they were swept out to sea. The light began to cress-cross and overlap each other until, written in a deep fire, color, the words spelled out:

_What goes up and down but never moves?_

Riddles… how he was beginning to hate riddles.

What goes up and down but never moves? What's that supposed to mean?

"What goes up and down but never moves?" yelled one of the men. "What the hell does that mean?"

The idiot had to open his big mouth. The stairs that they were standing on began to shake; they stretched and began to twist around… the men began to yell and scream before they turned around and tried to run back down the quaking stairs. His father stood on one of the steps and merely began to laugh hysterically which scared Yami more than the shaking room. Dad really was insane.

Yami on the other hand raced up almost as soon as the men had dropped him. He ran up to try to grab Yugi so that they could get out of this mess.

That was when everything disappeared and Yami was left alone in the dark. Yami stopped running and stared around him in the dark. He couldn't see anything (no surprise). He didn't understand what had happened… one minute he was with everyone else… and then the next…

He stumbled at the sudden silence and slid down a few steps before he was able to get his footing again. He started to gasp for breath; his heart was racing in his chest, and more scared than he had ever been in his life. He had no idea what to do…

"YUGI?" he yelled out. "YUGI? WHERE ARE YOU?"

Maybe the tower had ears and could hear him. For at that moment, a bright, glowing light began to shine above him… a door had appeared at the top of the steps and there was such a strong light that it was almost blinding. Like the sun was shining…

His heart filled with hope when he saw the door and ran up the stairs, toward the glowing light. It was still a long spiral staircase and it seemed to take an eternity for him to get closer. Yami was puffing by the time he reached the top and through the door…

… to emerge onto a stone platform. What he saw took all his breath away.

Above, below, or around him -- which, he could not tell -- was a vast stone hall, with so many staircases, balconies, windows, and doorways at different heights and odd angles to each other that he had no idea what was up or down, near or far, inside or out, backward or forward. Planes reversed themselves as you watched them, receding corners suddenly jutted out, rising steps inverted themselves, floors became ceilings, and walls turned into precipices. In this room, it seemed that the law of gravity had been repealed, and perspective had seven dimensions. If there had been water, it would have seemed to flow uphill. He felt sick and giddy, and had to cling to a pillar to remain upright. "Just my luck," he whispered to himself. As long as he went on looking at the hall, it went on altering. Does it still go on altering, he wondered dizzily, when no one is looking at it?

With his back to the wall, he edged along the platform. If he took it step by step, he was sure to get somewhere. At least he hoped so. He edged along, hoping that it was along and not up or past or through, until he came to a point that he was quite certain was where he had started. Yes, there was the top of the staircase behind him. He began to edge the other way, until he heard a voice from somewhere below. He knew whose voice it was.

"YAMI!"

"YUGI! WHERE ARE YOU?" Yami was looking around in a panic when he heard Yugi's voice cry out from somewhere. He had no clue where he was, or where Yugi could be, but he knew one thing. That Yugi was somewhere in this room.

Somehow, he had to find Yugi. He knew that Yugi wasn't going to last much longer in the condition that he was in. Yami began to work his way down a flight of stairs. A movement below him caught his attention. He peered beneath the stairs and saw his father walking parallel to him, apparently upside down, like a reflection in ice. Or maybe he was the one upside down. He ran to get away from him, to get to Yugi. His father mirrored his movements wherever his son went. He ran along a balcony, and suddenly he appeared at the far end of it, upright.

Yami was looking around him, trying to figure out this whole room when finally… he spotted him… Yugi was lying, curled up in a ball, a few levels below him.

Yami turned, ran back, and tripped. He landed with a bruising thud. His father was watching him, laughing.

"There's nothing you can do, Yami," he said in that voice that Yami hated with all his being. "Just sit back and wait until your little friend is able to figure out the riddle."

"Shut up!" Yami yelled before running off in the opposite direction. Yami started to follow a line of stairs that went in the direction of Yugi. As he drew near him, the boy suddenly vanished, leaving Yami stranded. "Yugi?" he cried out in worry. He spotted him again on another plane, this time somewhere above him.

He followed him again, and the same thing happened, and again. Yugi was moving on an axis with which Yami could not intersect. And everywhere he went, he seemed to be at risk of falling from a balcony, or tumbling all the way down a flight of stone stairs.

Yami was clambering up onto the ledge. Between him and Yugi was a vast space of the hall. Yugi was teetering on the ledge now, trying to stand up. Yami could not run to him, even supposing he was able to find a path to him through the deceiving planes. It was possible, he could not be sure, that Yugi was below him, and that he could reach him with a jump; a jump so far down that he would crack every bone in his body.

So he did the only thing that made sense…

Yami closed his eyes and jumped… and he fell… he fell… and fell… and fell…

…but he didn't hit the bottom…

When he opened his eyes, he was not sure where he was. It could have been another part of the tower. He thought he recognized it, but could not place it.

Yet something had changed. Near him was an ogee window, without glass, and through it he could see the upper half of one wing of the tower. It was in ruins, the cladding stones mostly gone, grass growing in the gaps they'd left. The turret roofs had collapsed, and brambles were reaching for the throat of the tower. Within the castle, where he was, he heard in the air the humming that he had come to associate with his father, but it had a hollow ring to it, something forlorn, like music in an abandoned house. In the crack between two flagstones where he laid he saw that weeds had started to push their way through. He stood up and looked around. There was no sign of Yugi.

"You still do not get it do you?" said his father's voice. Yami swirled around, and sure enough, 'dear old dad' was standing there. "We cannot leave this place until your friend guesses the riddle. So sit back and wait. It shouldn't take much longer."

Yami was suddenly given the desire to strangle his father. "What do you want with him," he hissed with menace in his voice. "He's done nothing to deserve this! He's sick and weak from the first trail! Can't you figure out the riddle on your own? If this keeps up then Yugi's gonna die before we reach the top!"

His father turned his head to the side as he began to smile again. "I thought you of all people should be able to see how strong the brat is. Trust me; your friend isn't going to die. However, once we reach the top I can't make any promises."

Yami stepped forward; he had no idea what he was going to do, but he had to think of something. That was when the room began to spin around them. The room that they were standing in had vanished so that Yami, his father, Yugi, and a handful of men were standing in a large circular room that resembled the first floor.

"Ah," said his father in a bored voice, looking around him. "We have completed the second floor."

Yami hardly paid attention to what his father said. He ran over to where Yugi was on the floor and gently began to shake him. "YUGI! Can you hear me?"

"Yami?" croaked out Yugi weakly as he opened his eyes. "What goes up and down but never moves? The answer is… stairs…" Yugi was taking in deep breaths of air before continuing, "It suddenly came to me as I was trying to get up… the answer was right in front of me the whole… the whole… the whole time." Yugi sounded exhausted. Yugi smiled at his friend, which only caused Yami's heart to sink.

"Let's go men," said his father as he turned towards a door that had appeared out of nowhere. "That door leads to the next level!" he clapped his hands together like he was a child promised a huge treat.

"Let Yugi rest for a minute!" Yami yelled out. "Yugi's in really bad shape. Let him sleep for a little while!"

His father only gave him an annoyed look before he barked at a few of the men to carry them. Only this time, the men didn't obey right away… they looked scared.

"Are you all reluctant to obey me?" he asked in a cold voice that rang with venom. It was clear that they feared him more than they feared the tower's power. They all jumped to attention at once, and separated the two boys.

"Yami, Yami, Yami," said his father in a piteous tone staring at his son while shaking his head. "You still have much to learn before we reach the top."

**_Sorry for taking so long. I'm trying to update as much as I can. Please tell me what you think!_**

**_Next chapter: Third Floor – Darkest Black_**


	19. Third Floor – Darkest Black

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 19- Third Floor – Darkest Black

"Come on! We don't even know how many more levels there are!" shouted Yami, hoping that the men dragging him from behind his father would listen for once. "Can't we just all turn back while we can?"

Oh, he didn't know why he was bothering. It was clear that the men feared his father more than the magic protecting this place. But Yugi was getting worse, and if he didn't do something soon then he was going to lose the only real friend he ever had. He had to keep trying to get them all to turn back, it was his only hope.

"Look, if we all turn back now then there's a chance that we can all make it out of here alive! Unless one of you wants to be the next person to be sacrificed; look if you guys all want to risk your lives inside this tower then at least leave me and Yugi out of it. If you want to risk everything to get power then be my guest. But why drag us into this?"

He shouldn't keep wasting his breath on these guys, it's like talking to statues. What did he do to deserve something like this? Was this his punishment for running away?

He couldn't believe that his dad was once a kind person… there was no way that they could be the same person.

_(A little bit later)_

Yami was seriously thinking that these stairs where torturing him on purpose. They had been climbing for almost an hour and there was no end in sight. They traveled up… and up… and up…

"What is with these stairs?" complained Yami finally getting tired of all the silence. The tower must have heard his complaint, because as soon as he spoke out, a familiar light began to glow above them.

Those familiar ribbons of light began to shine in midair, just like the first 2 floors. The light began to cress-cross and overlap each other in mid-air until, written in a deep fire, color, the words spelled out:

_They follow and lead, but only as you pass._

_Dress yourself in darkest black,_

_And they are darker still._

_Always they flee the light,_

_Though without the sun there would be none._

(The fun never ends in this place doesn't it?)

If he ever got out of this tower, he never wanted to hear or see another riddle for as long as he lived.

"YUGI!" he cried out as he ran forward.

"I s-see i-i-it Yam-Yami," croaked a weak and tired Yugi. Yami kicked the man who was dragging him in the shins and ran pass them as they reached out to grab him. There was no way that he was going to be separated from Yugi after what happened on the last floor. Just as his hand closed around Yugi's small wrist he was blinded by a shining light.

As Yami closed his eyes, he knew that that the blaring light was one of the most painful experiences he had ever been through. This light didn't just hurt his eyes; it felt as if a he were suddenly set ablaze. The kind of fire that didn't hurt the body, but the kind that made you still feel the pain.

The only part of his body that didn't feel any pain was the hand that was gripping Yugi like a lifeline.

He felt his knees give way as he fell to the ground, one hand still on his friend, and the other covering his eyes. Please let this all end…

_(Later)_

He didn't know how long he laid there; only that every second in this blinding light felt like an eternity of burning pain.

"Yami?" whispered Yugi's voice all of a sudden. "Are you ok?"

"NO," snapped back Yami as he felt tears fall down past his shut eyes. "I can't see and it's hurting me. What's going on?"

"The next challenge," whispered Yugi. "Don't worry, Yami. All we have to do is guess the riddle and we'll pass the next floor." He then began to recite:

_They follow and lead, but only as you pass._

"Any ideas what that means?"

"No," croaked back Yami. "A friend? I mean a friend can follow you or lead you around… but only as you pass? I don't have a clue. What was the next part?"

_Dress yourself in darkest black, and they are darker still._

"So no matter how dark your clothes are they dress in blacker clothes?"

"I guess," replied Yugi. "But doesn't something seem strange about that?"

"What do you mean?" asked Yami as he ignored his pain. The sooner he helped Yugi figure out the riddle the sooner this challenge would be over.

_Always they flee the light, though without the sun there would be none._

"Why would they be afraid of the light if they can't exist without the sun?"

"I don't know…" began Yami. But he suddenly realizes something. "Yugi… aren't you in any pain?"

"Of course," his friend said softly. Hearing that confession nearly broke Yami's heart. He had to help Yugi no matter what the cost. But… "Yugi? Is this light hurting you?"

"I can't tell," whispered Yugi that sounded like a great deal of effort. "I'm in so much pain from the last few floors that I can't really feel anything at the moment. Funny how that works isn't?"

That did it. Yami wasn't going to let Yugi suffer here for a moment longer. "We need to figure out the riddle to get out of here!" he cried. "Help me think Yugi!"

"Let's see… they can follow or lead but only when you walk by… they are always in black… and they flee in the sun but couldn't exist without it…" said Yugi quickly. He was forcing his brain to think of the answer but the light that was shining through his closed eyes weren't helping. How he wished that there were some shade or… or…

That's it!

"The answer is SHADOWS!" he said out loud.

And just like that… the light died out… leaving the boys in the dark once again. And for the first time in his life, Yami was grateful for the dark.

He opened his eyes; although after all the light he couldn't see a thing. He had to blink at least a hundred times for his eyes to finally get used to the sudden darkness. When he was able to see without being in pain he looked to his left, expecting to see Yugi's sweet smiling face in pride and triumphant for figuring out the riddle. But instead, Yugi was face-down on the hard stone floor, breathing slowly.

"Yugi?" said Yami as he sat up quickly and turned his friend over to get a better look at his face.

Yugi's eyes were closed and he was struggling to breathe… he didn't answer when Yami said his name. And that alone was more than enough to get Yami to understand just how bad off that Yugi was.

If something wasn't done soon then Yugi wouldn't last much longer.

He heard footsteps slowly approach him from behind. A deep burning anger began to fill the pit of Yami's stomach and spread throughout his body.

"If you're so powerful…" he hissed through clench teeth. "Why do you need a couple kids to reach the top of the tower?"

"Yami," said that voice that he hated more than anything else on earth. "You really need to start paying attention. No matter how bad your friend's condition gets, he will live until we get to the top. Once there, I will have no more need for either of you… and I'll be more than happy to put you both out of your misery."

Hot tears fell onto Yugi's unconscious face as Yami let all of his pain flow out of him. "So…" he said as if just wanting to make a few things clear. "No matter what happens here… you plan on killing us as soon as you get what you want?"

He heard a dark chuckle from behind him. "Don't blame me… you brought this fate upon yourself…"

Wow! He sure won't win father of the year will he? Sorry for taking so long but I've been having a serious writer's block and I can't seem to get any good ideas. Please tell me what you think of this journey to the top of the tower is going and what you think should happen next! Yugi's fading fast and if Yami doesn't do something then they're both history! When will they meet up with the dragon? What is the next floor going to be? Find out soon!

Sorry… I have a habit of ending chapters in cliffhangers. Makes things more fun right?


	20. Fourth Floor – Freefall

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 20- Fourth Floor – Freefall

"What do you mean I brought this fate upon myself?" said Yami in a stunned voice.

His father smiled a dark smile. "Don't you see? It has to end this way. You ran away from home because you wanted to get away from me. When you left, you should've stayed gone instead of coming back up north. But then you met your little friend here and you came to find the flying ship, Swiftflight. As soon as I realized that he was the boy that I needed, all I had to do was wait until you both came crawling back to me."

He gave Yami another disturbing smile before going on, "Imagine my surprise to find out that my son had gone out of his way to bring me the one person that can get us up to the top of this tower. I have to tell you… I could barely contain my excitement."

Yami clenched his hand so hard that his fingernails where beginning to draw blood. "Listen here," he said so menacingly that his father raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I didn't run away to help you. I left so that I could get away from you. I met Yugi here and he's the only true family I have! He's my closest friend… he's my aibou… my partner." As he said that last part he held Yugi tighter to him.

His father gave a dark chuckle. "Partners… how sweet. Too bad that it's too little too late."

"SHUT UP!" yelled Yami so loud that he woke up Yugi. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!"

"Yami?" whispered Yugi quietly.

Yami had gone pale before looking down at his friend. "Yugi? Are you alright? How are you doing?"

Yugi was able to give him a smile and said, "I've never felt better."

Yami shook his head, "You are such a bad liar you know?"

"No I'm-m-not…" he slurred weakly.

"Ah…" said that voice that Yami despised from behind him, "It almost breaks my heart… if I had one…"

Yami spun his head around to glare at his father and repeated as loudly as he could, "SHUT UP!"

His father gave a dark laugh before looking over his shoulder to see if any of the men were left. Only about 20 were still with them, and they all looked scared and tired.

"Well?" snapped his father. "Get going!"

For a moment, none of the men had moved a muscle. "What the hell is wrong with you people?" he shouted annoyed.

"N-n-n-no-ooo-oo No!" stuttered one of the men.

His father looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What?" he asked politely but coldly.

"NO!" repeated the man but with more force this time. "This is getting to dangerous! We've already lost more than half our crew and who knows what could be waiting for us! I'm with the kid! Let's leave while we'll still alive!"

The other men all looked at each other and began to nod in agreement. Yami's heart began to lift. The crew was all taking a stand against his father! Maybe they could all get out of this alive after all!

His father on the other hand didn't seem worried that his crew was starting to turn on him. He reached to his belt… and quicker than the eye could see… he drew a long sword and whammed the man who had spoken against the opposite wall with the sword at his throat.

Yami could see the terror in the man's face as he was pressed against the wall. "Really?" said his father in a cold voice that vibrated with menace. "You think that you can just back out when things get too tough? That you can leave whenever you want? Well I think that I can help you out with that. Just one strike and you can leave this world… for good."

The man gulped.

"It's your choice," said his father. "Stay… or go?"

The man took a deep, shuttering breath and gasped out, "S-stta-stay."

His father smiled in triumph gave him a terrible smile before dropping him on the floor. As the man lay on the ground whimpering, he turned to look at the rest of the crew. "Anyone else want to leave?" he asked calmly.

No one said a word.

"I thought not," he said as he put the sword away. He then pointed to a few men and ordered them to grab Yami and Yugi and to head up.

As the men came closer to them, Yugi looked up and said softly, "Yami?"

Yami looked down at him, "What is it aibou?"

Yugi gave him another weak smile, "No offense… but I really don't like your dad."

Yami couldn't help but smile at that. "Neither do I."

_*Later*_

You think that you would get tired of climbing an endless number of stairs and fight ancient magic, inside of a cursed tower. Well, you'd be right. It's not hard at all to get sick of it.

Not that Yami was paying any attention to it at all anymore. The only thing he was thinking of right now was the right word to call his father. Evil, power-hungry, psycho manic didn't seem to cut it. As he thought, the men were all trooping behind him with terrified looks on their faces. Great, it only took near drowning, an endless maze, and burning light for them to realize that they were in danger and should leave this place as soon as possible.

Why was his father the only one who couldn't see that?

They all continued their march up the seemingly uncountable stairs and were all terrified of what could be waiting for them on the next floor. Just how long have they been in this tower? It feels as if years had passed since they first arrived. And Yami felt as tired and weak as an old man; he didn't know how much more he could take.

He then looked up at the man who was carrying Yugi as if he were a sack of potatoes. Yugi was getting worse with every floor they pass. And if it was hard on Yami, it had to be even harder for Yugi. Yami gritted his teeth and forced his body to keep climbing, although every inch of him screamed in protest. If Yugi could keep fighting than he would to.

He had walked a few more feet when the familiar writing began to appear above them.

_What is greater than good?_

_And worse than evil?_

_The poor have it,_  
_The rich don't need it, _

_And if you eat it, you'll die?_

As soon as the men saw it, they began to panic and tried to turn to run back down the stair. Yami on the other hand, began to run up the stairs to the man who had Yugi. Yugi had fainted again, and there was no way that Yami was going to let him get trampled by these guys. He fought his way up to Yugi, who had been dropped, and bent down beside him to raise Yugi's head.

Yugi's face looked worse than ever before. He was as white as a ghost, and looked as weak as a newborn. "YUGI! WAKE UP!" he cried over the sounds of the screaming men who all sounded as if they were far away.

It was at that moment, that the stairs beneath their feet broke away and they all went tumbling down into the darkness. Yami let out a strangled yell before pulling Yugi against his chest and held him as he waited for them all to hit bottom.

But the bottom never came. They were stuck in a freefall. Down… down… down…

_*Sometime later*_

Yami never thought that he would actually get bored of falling. Even in this tower, you think that you would have to hit bottom sooner or later right? He held Yugi against him, for he was the only thing that was keeping him from losing his mind. All he could do now was pray that somehow they would get out of this mess alive.

Yami looked down at Yugi who was still unconscious. "Please Yugi wake up now," he said seriously. "You're the only one who can figure out the riddle. You must help me."

Nothing. Yugi didn't so much as twitch.

"Yugi, wake up fast, please!"

Still nothing. Yami was starting to get scared.

"Yugi please!"

He might have just been talking to brick wall for all the good it was doing him.

"Come on, please Yugi wake up now!" Yami could feel tears forming in his eyes as Yugi continued to remain silent. "Open your eyes! Before it's too late! Or else we'll be stuck falling forever!"

Tears were being carried away by the rushing air. "Oh, come on, Yugi! Come on, you've got to wake up!" He let out a strangled sob, "We've got the rest of our lives to live, once we get out of this mess. And I promise that we will! But I'm going to need your help! Please wake up!"

"Yami?" whispered Yugi weakened voice.

Yami's tears stopped flowing for a moment as Yugi finally opened his eyes.

"Yugi," whispered Yami as he pulled Yugi tight against him. "Thank goodness."

Yugi just seemed to realize that they were falling. "What's going on?" he asked in a strangely calm tone. Either he wasn't bothered by that fact that they were falling, or he was just too weak to put up a big fuss.

"It's the next challenge," said Yami quickly. "We've got to solve it or else we'll be stuck falling forever."

"Was there another riddle?" asked Yugi. "Do you remember it?"

Yami had to think hard for a few minutes to make sure that he got the words right: "What is greater than good? And worse than evil? The poor have it, The rich don't need it, And if you eat it, you'll die?" Yami shook his head. "At first I thought that it was my father, because I think that he's worse than evil but the rest of the riddle doesn't fit," said Yami in a feeble attempt to make a joke. Yugi managed a small smile but his brow wrinkled as he thought hard about the riddle.

"What is greater than good?" said Yugi out loud.

"Nothing's greater than good," replied Yami as he forced his brain to keep thinking.

"OK," said Yugi, "Can you think of anything that's worse than evil?"

"Other than my father, nothing," said Yami.

"The poor have it? Any ideas?" said Yugi.

"No, nothing," answered Yami sounding more useless every second.

"Come on Yami! We have to think! What don't the rich need?"

"I've got nothing," said Yami, his voice full of shame.

"Poison?" said Yugi a little absentmindly. "I mean if you eat it you'll die… but I…" Yugi began to gasp, "I... don't think that's the answer…"

Yami could see that Yugi was fighting to stay awake. "Yugi?" he asked his voice full of concern.

Yugi was whacking his brains to work. "Nothing is greater than good, nothing's worse than evil. The poor have nothing, and the rich need nothing. And…"

Yugi's eyes widened. "Of course! I'm such an idiot."

"What are you talking about?" said Yami.

"It was right in front of our faces and we didn't even think about it!" said Yugi smiling at Yami. "You already had the answer."

Yami stared at him, now clearly worried for Yugi's sanity. "What are you talking about?" he repeated. "I wasn't any help at all! I couldn't think of anything!"

"Not anything," said Yugi grinning in triumph. "But nothing!"

"Yugi," said Yami trying to help him come back to his senses. "I think that you've been through too much already and…"

"No!" yelled Yugi with more force. "That's the answer! Nothing is greater than good. Nothing worse than evil. The poor have nothing. The rich need nothing. And if you eat nothing, you'll die! The answer is NOTHING!"

As soon as Yugi cried out the last word… the wind stopped rushing pass them… they stopped falling… they were lying safe and sound on the stone floor. The Fourth floor.

How they had gone from falling, to lying safely on the floor, Yami had no idea.

He was lying with Yugi in his arms and was listening to the sound of his beating hard slow down to its normal pace.

Yami suddenly felt as if he had aged another few hundred years, and before he could stop himself, he felt his eyelids close as he fell into an uneasy sleep.

(I can be sooooo Mean, right? What do you think? how many more floors do you think there should be? and i've been having a lot of trouble updating my stories lately, and i sometimes have to update it several times to get it right so please just bear with me.)


	21. Fifth Floor – The Less You See

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 21- Fifth Floor – The Less You See

Yami had finally woken up after he felt as if he slept for about a hundred years; he felt sore, tired, and weaker than a newborn baby. He didn't want to move ever again.

He then noticed that he wasn't lying on the floor anymore, but being carried like a sack of potatoes. "Please, sir," said the person who was carrying him. "Can't we turn back now? I mean, even if the next floor comes up… the brats are both out like lights so they can't figure out the riddles… so we're all pretty much dead…"

_'Turn back? Turn back from what?'_ thought Yami. Oh, his head was so foggy that he couldn't think straight; couldn't remember anything.

"Oh, do not worry," said a voice that Yami recognized but couldn't remember from where. "My son won't let any harm come to his little friend. What was it that he called him? Ah yes I remember… my son called the boy his 'aibou'. His partner…" the voice laughed in a cold way that Yami didn't like at all.

_'Aibou?'_ he thought. That word rung a bell from somewhere inside Yami. He knew that word… he remembered calling someone… someone that…

"YUGI!" he yelled out so suddenly that the man, who had been carrying him, dropped him in surprise. "Oww!" Yami said as he rubbed his sore backside. "Watch it!"

"See what I mean? His aibou is far too important to him for him to give up now."

"What's happening?" Yami demanded as he forced his aching body to stand up. "What are you up to now?"

His father rolled his eyes. "You're even dumber than I thought."

Yami gave him another dirty look before looking around. "Where's Yugi?" he demanded.

His father sighed almost wearily before pointing behind them. Yami turned to see that Yugi was being carried by one of the few remaining men. "YUGI!" he screamed as he ran to him.

His father stretched out to grab him by the scruff of his neck. "I'm afraid that I can't allow that."

"LET GO OF ME YOU…" Yami screamed as he fought to get free.

"Where are your manners?" his father asked irritated. "You can have your friend back once I get what I want. This means that you and the boy will no longer be of anymore use to me once the top floor comes."

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Yami screamed.

His father merely started to clean out his ear with a finger before saying calmly, "Must you keep shouting?"

"I'LL SHOUT IF I WANT TO!" yelled Yami as he fought tooth and nail to get free from his father's grasp. "LET ME GO!"

"Not a chance," said his father. "But I'll tell you what? Once the next floor comes up, I'll let you go to your friend. But only if you stop yelling."

Yami only continued to fight harder as his father began to drag him up the stairs like he was a rag doll. He wasn't getting anywhere like this. He had to think of something…

"I may not remember much about mother," said Yami as he continued to fight with all his strength, "But I know that this was not what she wanted!"

His father had stopped dead in his tracks. He stood there completely frozen; and Yami knew that he struck a nerve. Even after all these years… his dad never forgot about his mother. Just when he thought that he had a way to get them out of this, his father raised his hand, and smacked him so hard on the cheek that Yami thought that he was going to black out again.

"Don't you ever…" began his father, his voice filled with so much menace that everyone else drew back in terror. "If I ever hear you say that again… I'm going to make sure that you're little friend pays the price. And…" he looked up at Yugi before looking down at Yami again, who was rubbing a bright red mark on his face.

His father gave him an evil grin, "I don't think that your 'aibou' isn't going to last much longer in his condition. So I'd be careful if I were you."

Yami gulped. Can you blame him? He became quiet and allowed his father to continue to drag him up the stairs. He was so scared of saying something that would make his father take his anger out on Yugi. As much as he hated to admit it… 'Dear old dad' was right. Yugi's condition was bad, and if he didn't get help soon, he wouldn't last much longer. They were running out of time.

After awhile of silence, except for the sounds of footsteps upon stone… light once again began to appear above them… and Yami knew what was coming. He was able to wrench himself free from his father and ran back to Yugi, who had been dropped by the frightened men. Yami pulled Yugi's body away from them and held Yugi against him.

"Yugi?" he whispered.

"Yami?" said his father. "I'd pay attention to the riddle if I were you."

Yami turned his head in time to see the words,

_This engulfing thing is strange indeed. _

_The greater it grows, the less you see._

In his opinion… the person who created riddles should be dragged out into the street and beaten to death with a club.

Yami quickly memorized the riddle before bending over Yugi's body; ready to protect him from whatever was coming.

As he heard the men scream and run, another blinding light began to come from out of nowhere. But unlike the last light that had blinded and hurt him, he didn't feel any pain… instead he felt as if a hot sun was blaring down from above him… he felt soft hot sand from beneath his body… and the wind that suddenly blown from nowhere, felt bone dry.

Yami opened his eyes… blinking several times before getting used to the sudden light.

_'Oh, you have got to be kidding me,'_ he thought as his vision came into focus. He and Yugi were stranded in the middle of a hot desert. The sky was a cloudless clear blue, with a bright sun blaring down at them; the sands stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions, and there were no rocks or cactuses in sight.

"First a storm... with icy water… and now a desert… with a hot sun," he said bitterly. He then glanced down at Yugi's face; the sudden warmth from the sun had actually done Yugi some good. The shivering had stopped, and his face wasn't so pale. Yami let out a small sigh of relief before turning around, and heaving Yugi onto his back.

He took a deep breath, and began to cross the desert; hoping against hope on finding some shade.

_*A little later*_

Why did he bother wasting his energy? He knew from the start that there wasn't anything in this giant sandbox other than sand and sun. Yami was struggling to keep going… he was tired, thirsty, and hot… and with Yugi on his back, it was a miracle that he was still moving.

Sweat began to flow down his body, soaking him; his mouth on the other hand felt as dry as the desert that he was in. He was willing to give up almost anything to have just a tiny sip of water. His feet began to drag; the heat of the sun was starting to blur his sight.

And the next thing he knew, he was lying face down with a mouthful of sand and a weakened Yugi lying on top of him. This heat… was too much.

"Yami?" said a voice. The voice was so quiet, that at first, Yami thought that the sun caused his brain to melt and he was starting to hear voices.

"Yami?" repeated the voice, a little stronger this time.

"Yu-Yugi?" asked Yami as he tried to turn his head to look at Yugi. But he couldn't move a muscle.

"Don't tell me," said Yugi. Yes, this was definitely Yugi's voice. "This is the next challenge?"

"Wow," said Yami. "You must be psychic." Yet another weak attempt to make a laugh.

"Yami? What's the riddle this time?"

Yami didn't answer for a moment. The heat was messing up with his way of thinking.

"Yami?" repeated Yugi, who by this point was sounding scared by Yami's silence.

Yami had to work hard to get his heated brain to think:

_This engulfing thing is strange indeed. _

_The greater it grows, the less you see._

"Well," said Yugi after a short moment of silence. "At least, it's shorter."

"Ha ha," said Yami. "Please Yugi. Figure it out quick. Before we melt."

Yugi thought… engulfing thing? What strange thing engulfs other things? And when it grows, you see less of it? These riddles are getting even more ridiculous with each floor.

"Ahhh…" moaned Yami suddenly.

"Yami!" said Yugi in a panicked voice. "What's wrong?"

"I can't take it," whispered Yami. "I can't go on…"

"Don't talk like that!" said Yugi with as much force that he could muster. "I need you Yami. Now more than ever!"

"No," said Yami closing his eyes. "It's my fault that you're in this mess."

"Your fault? Did you make your father evil? No! Did you ask your father to try and take over the world? NO! It's your father's fault! You can't keep comparing yourself to him! You're not him!" Yugi started to break down and cry. "Why can't you see that?" begged Yugi.

Yami had opened his eyes and was finally was able to look at the face that had become his family. The one person in this world that he trusted… the person he would've thrown himself in front of a sword to protect him…

Yugi would never give up on him… so why should he let Yugi down by giving up on himself?

That thought alone was enough for Yami to be able to push himself back up onto his knees; Yugi had slid off his back and was leaning against him—too weak to move.

Yami then seized Yugi and pulled him into a hug. "Why did this have to happen?" he asked quietly.

Yugi just held onto Yami and let the tears fall. What were you supposed to say at a time like this? "I don't know. Life is hard. But you just keep going. The world may seem dark sometimes, but I don't know, you just have to find your way until the sun rises. You just follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, because that's when the light shines the brightest."

Once he had finished speaking, Yugi's eyes widened. Yami felt Yugi stiffen; "You figured out the riddle didn't you?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes," said Yugi as Yami lowered his head to the ground. "The strange engulfing thing… when it grows, you see less… it's the NIGHT!"

The white hot sun had then quickly begun to set. One second, it was stuck in a permanent high noon, and then the next… it had suddenly lowered to the horizon and the sky had become a blood-red sunset. The air had cooled down, and darkness began to fall. Yami looked down at Yugi again, and saw that he had fallen asleep.

Yami had also felt his eyes beginning to close again…

The last thing he remembered saying before he blacked out was, "You're the light in the darkness, Yugi."


	22. Sixth Floor – Shattered

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 22- Sixth Floor – Shattered

You ever have one of those days when you feel like crap? Like at the end of a day that you knew that you should've just stayed in bed and not even bother to make an effort? A day that felt like it could possibly be the worst day of your life? Well for Yugi and Yami, it WAS the worst day of their lives.

Yami was wide awake almost instantly. He sat up and looked around him, praying that it had all been just one long and terrible nightmare… that he and Yugi were both still on the road… traveling and laughing together… and Yugi would be sleeping right next to him…

Well, Yugi was sleeping right next to him. But they weren't on the road. No they were still in that awful tower, slowly being killed by magic. Once Yami realized that he hadn't been dreaming, he waited for the tears to start flowing.

But he was still dehydrated from that desert, and he had no more tears to shed. He heard footsteps, but he didn't need to look up to know who it was.

"This madness needs to stop. You could end up being next, and yet you don't care?" he asked sounding close to having an emotional breakdown.

"Suck it up. Tears never solve anything," said his father.

Just to defy him, Yami let out a dry sob. "I hate you," he said.

"Ouch," said his father sarcastically. "That hurts. Just get up now."

"No," he said.

"Be that way," his father said. He then yelled at one of the men, which were only about 13 left. "You! Take them!"

(I won't bore you with the details on how they were once again being carried up the stairs to the next floor and how Yami fought with all he had. I will tell you that his struggles woke up Yugi just in time for the next riddle to appear though. And this one is just as annoying as the last few riddles)

_What turns everything around but does not move?_

Yami knew where this was going as he was dropped again, and he ran towards Yugi. But he didn't make it to him in time as he was once again engulfed by light.

He had been through a lot since entering the tower… but what happened here had to have been the weirdest and most terrifying thing yet. He really didn't know how to explain it, but it was frightening and so wonderful at the same time that he thought that he would like to just repeat every moment over and over again. But he knew that it was impossible.

Now you wonder what it was, don't you? Okay, I'll tell you. He was looking into a mirror. No, not merely into it… he could look through it.

What he saw took his every breath, his every heartbeat, his every movement, so that he froze to the spot and could only stare at the person, who he locked eyes with. He didn't look at himself that moment, like you would expect, when you look into the mirror. That wasn't him. It couldn't be him. But… in a strange way he seemed to be himself. He mirrored Yami like a twin brother. But they were different in every way imaginable. He was tall and looked older than he was. But his hair, and his face… nobody could have the same haircut he have. Not the same color. His hair is spiked, black, red-tainted and blond. No one but Yugi could. But… the person in the mirror did, too.

Now you think, he just saw strange things, right? You think, he saw himself and not someone else, right? He didn't. The person wasn't him. He could tell by only one look into his eyes. The person on the other side of the mirror had red eyes… much like his own… they were the same rich crimson… like blood. But his refection had the eyes of darkness. They were dangerous. Yami could see the glint of darkness, of insanity, behind the slightly shocked glance. It would have freaked him out to no end, hadn't he been so shocked myself. So he just went on staring, mutely, holding his breath.

After a few moments the shock in the reflection's eyes melted into curiosity. His head tilted to the side lightly and his lips formed words, but he couldn't hear them. And Yami couldn't have answered, even if he heard them. He was too afraid of the dark creature in front of him.

_"Who are you?" _the reflection asked.

Yami flinched and his eyes widened; his fear increased but he was also stunned and astonished like never before in his life. He felt like freezing, but the chill, which went slowly down his spine, was warm, like a warm flame. The reflection spoke to him. He spoke into Yami's mind. He could hear the smooth yet dark voice inside his head, shortly after his lips moved, as if he sent the question through the glass…

Then the dark stranger stretched out his hand, his crimson eyes fixed on my face, flashing like blood-red diamonds, and touched the cold surface of the invisible wall, which separated us from each other. Yami hesitated a moment but then also lifted a trembling hand until his fingers reached the mirror, where his hand already laid.

"I don't know anymore…" he whispered quietly.

_"Why?" _the voice asked.

Suddenly light flashed and nearly blinded him with its intensity. He pressed his eyes close, covering them with his hands.

_"Why?" _repeated the voice. _"Who are you?"_

The light faded away, left him blinking tears of pain out of his burning eyes. He was alone again and he felt the loss before he could even look at the mirror. The reflection was gone. Only a small, frightened child could be seen.

That was him… himself. The difference was amazing and yet it wasn't… he didn't understand it himself.

_"Why are you here?"_ asked the voice only this time it was behind him.

Yami spun around to see another mirror there, and the reflection was back. He then saw that the dark room he was in was filled with mirrors. There were dozens of mirrors of every size and shapes floating in midair all around him, reflecting the dark reflection at him.

"I… I'm sorry," he said to the figure beyond the mirror, "But I don't know what you mean."

_"You? Who are you?" _the figure spoke in his thoughts again. His eyes wandered to the mirror, searching for the crimson eyed figure. But nobody was there. The mirror showed just himself and it made him feel lonely. The answering voice sounded powerful and so very, very dark. And it made him nearly collapse, because it was an unexpected sensation to feel the darkness flood over him like a wave. He stumbled into the room completely and sunk to his knees.

"Where are you? What are you? Where did you come from?" asked Yami irritated. No answer came and he looked around with searching eyes. _'What's this all about? Where are the others? Where's Yugi?'_ he thought in a panic.

"YUGI!" he screamed. "Yugi! Where are you?"

_"Don't worry,"_ said his reflection from behind another mirror. _"Yugi. Is here."_

"Where?" he cried looking around him, but only seeing countless mirrors staring at him. It was like having a crowd of creepy eyes the color of dried blood on dark, red velvet surrounding him… like the room was spinning around him and the eyes were all blending in an out so fast that he thought that he was going to be sick.

"What are you? Where's Yugi?" Yami repeated. "Who are you?"

But he couldn't focus on any one image. He nearly threw-up, but forced the unpleasant feeling down. He would just go to sleep now. Just for a moment… darkness overcame him.

Yami woke up slowly as light hit his face. He cracked one eye open tiredly and figured he hadn't slept for very long, because he still felt as weak as a newborn. But, he wondered, why did he fall asleep...?

Then he remembered. Immediately, his gaze shifted to the mirror, which showed his dark reflection. Those eyes. Enchanting, alluring, so very, very deep. The color was able to change so quickly from aggressive fire to soft ruby to the lurking and dangerous color of dried blood. That all was summed up now in one mere pair of eyes, half lidded by heavy lashes, looking down on him.

Yami felt terror race up and down his body. "What are you?"

The reflection tilted his head. _"I'm you…"_ was all he answered.

Yami was able to get back to his feet. "What are you talking about?" he asked as he staggered around. "I'm me…"

He then felt something warm crept up behind him. He tried to think about what it could be, but his thoughts were too clouded from sleep and it was so dark wherever he was, so he couldn't see anything else anyway. He leaned back into the warmth, feeling two possessive arms snake around his waist and pull him even deeper into the darkness.

He didn't mind it. No, not at all. Warmth was a good thing. Yami smiled slightly. He felt content and that was a good thing, too, wasn't it?

Why bother? Why bother when a soft breath caresses your neck? It felt right after all. Why bother when the sleep claims you once again?

Yami sighed and waited for himself to be taken into dreamland again, he wanted to be dreaming without those crimson eyes, which seemed to belong to the devil himself, staring at him.

The air blowing against him was warm and he felt content like that, just letting himself float in dark nothingness. Pitch-black nothingness. Normally it made him quiver in fear but the feeling of the company of another being at his side soothed the uneasiness. He could have stayed like that forever, he thought, just lying on air, nothing but the presence of something warm and intimate all around him, snuggling to his skin like a touch. And then he heard it…

"YAMI!"

That voice… who was it? It sounded so familiar to him.

"YAMI! CAN YOU HEAR ME!"

Yugi voice… he could hear Yugi's voice…

Breathing in the scent deeply he was shocked to find that the source of it was moving away from him. The warmth around him left, the air blowing against him losing a few degrees of temperature. He shivered, the darkness around him now not all that comfortable anymore. He tried to reach out and hold it back but the nothingness was so empty and there was nothing he could grab and pull back against him. He had lost the company of the one chasing his fears away and they returned full force, making him whimper. He wanted to cry, to scream, but somehow there was no voice to speak, there was no sound of anything around him, not even his breathing, which had to be quite harsh by now. His eyes widened in panic, the darkness closing in and there was nothing he could do about it. Cold, uncaring darkness. Coming nearer and nearer. Encircling him.

"YAMI!" cried out Yugi's voice again, it sounded sick and weak; as if Yugi was forcing all of the strength he had to let out a decent scream. "YAMI DON'T LET THIS MAGIC TRICK YOU! YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF THERE!"

"HOW?" he cried out in desperation.

"THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE IS MIRROR! BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH… YOU HAVE TO SMASH THE RIGHT MIRROR IF YOU WANT TO GET OUT!"

Yami stared around him at the revolving mirrors. "WHICH MIRROR? THERE'S GOTTA BE AT LEAST A HUNDRED MIRRORS IN HERE!"

"FIND THE ONE THAT SHOWS THE TRUTH!" he heard Yugi scream.

Yami looked around him again, trying in vain to find the owner of the voice, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

"TRY…" yelled Yugi's voice, sounding weaker by the moment. "FIND THE ONE THAT SHOWS WHO YOU…"

"YUGI!" screamed Yami. "Yugi where are you?" This time he didn't get an answer. He was left alone in the room full of mirrors. What did he mean find the mirror that shows who you… what? This was all too much for him, he just wanted to close his eyes and go back. He wished that he could go back to those nights that he spent with Yugi at the spring. Where they talked, laughed, and dreamed… where for the first time since his mother died, he had been happy. He wanted everything to go back to what it was.

"Reflection," he whispered as he stood up and gazed at the many mirrors surrounding him. "Talk to me. Tell me what to do I'm stuck. My heart's an anchor." The reflection appeared in the mirror to his right.

_"Look at you, crying like some sad little puppy who was thrown out onto the streets… you're pathetic."_

Yami gave the reflection a dark look. "What do you expect me to do? Me and my closest friend are fighting for our lives. And you're here making it worse." The reflection shrugged. "Tears never solve anything. No matter how much water there is, it doesn't change anything."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Yami cried out in desperation. "How am I supposed to get out of this? I can't even stand up to my own father! If you can call that man a father! My best friend is sick and maybe even dying because I got him involved in my problems. I can't help it. I don't know what to do anymore. I want…"

_"You want?"_ asked the reflection. _"What you want changes with the tides… with the breeze… you can't always live your life by what you want. I feel bad for your friend. He got stuck with you."_

"What do you mean?" said Yami still letting the tears fall.

The reflection shook his head in exasperation._ "There are thousands of people throughout the world that are being cared for by a family member, a friend, or by a lover who has stuck by them, through terrible times, and unnumbered hardships. Everyone got that… but Yugi. Instead he got you. Why? Why did he end up having a weakling like you to take care of him? Look in the mirror… look at who Yugi has to depend on."_

The mirror shimmered with silver light for a brief moment before the image faded. Yami wasn't looking at the dark figure anymore. Instead he was staring at himself… his own copy. The figure looked small and thin… he was wet, dirty, wearing torn clothes, with blood-shot eyes and tears falling down his filthy face. It took Yami a minute to grasp that this… this was him. This frightened child… this scared child was supposed to be the one taking care of the one person he cherished and trusted more than anyone on this earth… and he looked like he couldn't even take care of himself. Yami walked over to the mirror and raised a shaking hand to touch the surface; his reflection copied his movements.

"I can't believe this," croaked Yami.

_"Oh, the list of things you can't do. You're so weak."_

That voice got him angry. "I'm not weak!" he screamed as he wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

_"Then prove it! Prove it to me now!"_

Yami raised his fist and smashed the mirror in front of him. It broke as if he had flung a heavy stone at it; it just shattered into a million pieces which fell all around him as if in slow motion. Thousands of mirror shards reflecting his eyes as they fell… eyes that burned with a new fire… a new fire that reflected a new reason to keep fighting.


	23. Seventh Floor – 4 Children

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 23- Seventh Floor – 4 Children

Yami raised his fist and smashed the mirror in front of him. It broke as if he had flung a heavy stone at it; it just shattered into a million pieces which fell all around him as if in slow motion. Thousands of mirror shards reflecting his eyes as they fell… eyes that burned with a new fire… a new fire that reflected a new reason to keep fighting.

The shards of the mirror fell around him, glittering like raindrops and hitting the ground with a finality that echoed around the spinning room. Yami felt sick as he collapsed to his knees and tried to find something he could hold onto, besides the ground. Finding nothing, he fell face-forward and struggled to keep himself from being sick.

He curled up into a ball and shut his eyes, praying that it would end.

And it did…

The room stopped spinning and Yami was panting as he rested on the hard floor, trying to get over the shock of what just happened. Not only were cold, blood-red eyes were haunting his mind, there was a terrible pain in his hand, and he just couldn't get his body to move the way he wanted them to.

All of a sudden, he felt a feeble hand grab his wrist and an even weaker voice say, "Yami?"

Only that voice could've gotten Yami to move. Yami's eyes opened immediately and after a few more minutes, he was able to force himself onto all fours and look around him. His eyes were so tired, that he was seeing double… including seeing two weaken forms of Yugi lying only a foot away.

"Yugi?" he said as he dragged himself over to him. "Yugi? Can you hear me?"

Yugi raised his head a few centimeters to look at him, "I—I'll—I'm so—glad that—you're—alright," he said, as if every word hurt him.

"I should be the one saying that," said Yami weakly as sadness began to overtake him. "Look at you. You can hardly move."

Yugi only smiled at him, "But—I'm not—not the one—who's bleeding."

Confused, Yami looked down at him and saw what Yugi was talking about. His hand was leaking blood all over the floor. He stared at it, wondering what had happened… before remembering that he had punched the mirror. This was the pain he was feeling in his hand just a few minutes ago… he must've gotten cut on one of the broken mirrors.

Yami tore off the bottom of his shirt and wrapped it around his hand, trying to stop the flow of blood.

"Are you—going—going to be—ok?" Yugi asked weakly.

"If I were you kid," said that voice that we should all recognize by now. "You should be more worried about yourself."

Yami's father stepped over towards them with an unreadable expression on his face. "How sad," he said looking around them, "It seems that we are the only ones left."

Yami stared around him and realized that it was true… they were all alone.

"But you know?" said his father calmly, "I think that this works out for the best. Now I don't have to share the ultimate prize with anyone."

"Don't you care at all about the men who lost their lives?" screamed Yami as he moved closer to Yugi.

"Please, you can find grunt work anywhere," his father replied. "But once I claim the reward at the top, I won't be needing help anymore. We should be nearing the end very soon…"

He then looked down at the frail Yugi and snapped at him, "If you're awake then get going."

This was almost too much for Yami. Yelling at him was one thing, but yelling at Yugi…

He quickly pulled Yugi towards him and held him tightly, "Can't you see that he's sick!" he yelled at his father. "He can hardly move let alone walk."

His dad sighed irritably before raising his hand and smacking Yami across the cheek so hard that it caused him to fall backwards, away from Yugi. As Yami put his hand on his stinging cheek, he heard Yugi cry out, "STOP IT!"

Yami looked to see that Yugi's weak hand was grasping the edge of his father's coat with trembling hands. Yami couldn't see the look his father was giving Yugi but he **could** see that Yugi was crying.

"P-please… I w-want to g-go. Lets l-lea-leave before its t-to l-late," Yugi stuttered. If you could hear a little cracking noise… it was the sound of Yami's heart breaking into a million pieces. He was about to get up when his father bent down and scooped up Yugi with one arm and flung him over his shoulder like a rag doll. Yugi made no resistance… though he looked so sick that he probably couldn't muster up the energy to do so. His father looked at Yami and hollered at him to get up or else.

Yami got to his feet. Not because he wanted to, but because he was worried that his dad would do something to Yugi if he didn't. He followed the other two as they began their climb… Yami was feeling light-headed from the sight of his own blood… and the feeling of about to throw-up was coming back in full force.

Onwards and upwards they climbed the stairs, Yami stumbling along the way… struggling to get back onto his feet. Finally, after almost 20 minutes of climbing, Yami's strength had left and he fell on the stairs and stayed there. He couldn't move to save his life and he wished that he could just sleep there for a few hundred years.

"Are you giving up?" his father asked him coolly a little ways ahead of him. "I wouldn't die yet if I were you… after all… the next riddle is appearing."

Hearing that, Yami forced his drained and tired head to look up. His eyes were so exhausted that he had to force himself to read what the words spelled out:

_There are four children in this world that were all born together:  
The first, eats and is never full  
The second child runs and never wearies.  
The third child drinks and is ever thirsty,  
And the fourth sings a song that's the same as it always been._

_Who are they?_

His father dropped Yugi, who then rolled down the stairs, almost like a slinky would… and right into Yami. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, Yami reached out and stopped Yugi from rolling pass him and pulled him into his arms. He felt the stairs beneath them disappear, and they were laying on some kind of stone floor. He shut his eyes, fearing the worst… thinking that some kind of monster would appear next and kill them…

… but nothing came.

Yami opened his eyes to see darkness. No, not complete darkness… The two of them were lying in some kind of spotlight and were surrounded by the dark. Yami looked above to see a single ray of light fall upon them… but could see nothing else outside the light.

_'Now what?'_ he thought as he sat up, cuddling Yugi close to him while feeling him shake like a leaf. _'What are we supposed to do now?'_

"The same as the other floors…" said Yugi in barely more than a whisper. He looked up with worn-out eyes and asked, "Four children in this world that were all born together…"

"I don't have the slightest clue," said Yami. "But if we don't figure it out, we'll be trapped here."

"Ok," said Yugi thinking hard. "Four children? All born together…"

Suddenly they heard something… It was a whooshing sound… like when some swishes a long object through the air?

"What's that?" Yugi asked in a petrified tone.

Yami held him even closer and said, "I'm afraid to find out."

To scared to move, they waited… at first they thought that staying in this light would be a bad thing. What if something was out there trying to kill them? This light would give them away.

But if they stepped out… what would happen in the darkness? So they waited… and prayed that things would turn out ok. "Think fast Yugi," Yami hissed as he looked around him. He strained his eyes to see pass this light, but the sound was getting louder and closer so he couldn't stop shaking.

"Yami?" Yugi said quickly, "I think I figured out the first child from the riddle."

"Already?" Yami said happily.

"Yeah, but I can't think of the other's," Yugi said ashamed.

"Well if you can figure out one then…" but he stopped when he saw a flash of light right in front of him. Yugi looked at where Yami was looking… and they saw them. Knifes, swords, large shards of glass, and every other sharp object you can think of was flying through the air towards them. Yami yelled as he fell right on top of Yugi, trying to protect him as the sharp object came flying towards them.

He felt a shearing pain in his right shoulder as a longsword flew pass, barely missing his face. He could hear Yugi screaming in terror as they came back around for a second time. Yami screwed up his eyes and waited for them to get sliced to pieces when he then heard Yugi scream out, "FIRE!"

Yami could see light appearing from nowhere and he could smell burning metal. His eyes snapped open to see that they were surrounded by a ring of fire and when the shards of metal came flying towards them, the fire melted them into little pools of liquid. Yami brought them both up to a sitting position and stared around as the fire continued to protect them.

"Now there's something you don't see every day," said Yami stunned.

"Like I said," began Yugi clutching Yami with all the strength he had left. "The first eats and is never full… fire eats everything and can keep going…"

Just as they were beginning to relax, the fire started to grow larger and spread farther.

"Ok Yugi," said Yami with his voice shaking, "I really think that we have enough fire…"

"I'm not doing this!" Yugi screamed back.

"But then…" began Yami as his eyes began to water from the smoke.

"I'm guessing that we have to guess the other parts of the riddle…" said Yugi coughing. "The first is fire… the second child runs and never wearies…"

"What runs but never gets tired?"

"I'll have to get back to you on that one," said Yugi gasping for breath. The fire was spreading… coming closer to them… Yami knew that if they didn't figure out the rest of the riddle, they were going to burn to death.

"I think we were better off with the knifes," he croaked, his throat as dry as bone. "Think Yugi! We have to find a way to fight fire with fire!"

Yugi's eyes widened at what Yami just said, "No… we have to fight fire with WATER!"

At that second, the roaring sound of waves came out of nowhere and began to extinguish the flames. Towers of steam flew up, as the water began to flood around them.

"I see now," yelled Yami over the sound of the water. "Water runs and can't get tired. Nice thinking!"

"It's not over yet!" Yugi screamed back as the water was getting rougher. "We have the fire and water… but what's the next part of the riddle?"

"It went something like… The third child drinks and is ever thirsty…"

"Drinks and is never thirsty?" Yugi cried back. "That one's easy! That's EARTH!"

At once, the waves calmed down and began to get sucked into the ground below them. The ground was sucking up the water, but it also began to shake…

"Great," Yami cried, "We're stuck in an earthquake now!"

"How do you stop the ground from shaking?" Yugi cried as the vibrations were starting to make them slide everywhere across the floor. Yami held onto the only thing that he felt was worth holding onto, and shut his eyes as they were being tossed around. It felt like being thrown around and being kicked like an old ball.

_'What sings a song that's always the same?'_ thought Yugi desperately as he felt that he was going to be sick. _'What beats earth? Fire melts metal… water extinguishes fire… earth dries up water… and…'_

"Yami?" screamed Yugi as he also shut his eyes, and tried to brace himself against the pain of being thrown around like a kickball.

"What?" Yami screamed back, "I can barely hear you!" The grinding sound of the earth breaking apart and hitting them with stones as sharp as glass; Yugi knew that he was cut and bleeding. "Yami… water, fire, and earth! What's the last element?"

"Wind of course but what does that have to do with…" But as soon as he said the word 'wind' the ground stopped shaking, and a slight breeze began to blow… growing stronger and stronger. However for some reason Yami wasn't being blown around by it.

It was like being able to feel the wind blowing… but not having it touch you. He didn't know how else to describe it.

"Wind moves earth…" whispered Yugi as things settled down. "They are the 4 children…"

Yami looked down at Yugi, and to his horror, he saw that there was blood dripping down from Yugi's mouth. "Yugi!"

Yugi opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out… only more blood. Before Yami could say anything else, the wind then continued to blow… it blew so hard and so strong that they were being carried in an updraft towards the single ray of light and out of this pit of darkness.

**(Only one more floor until they finally reach the top!)**


	24. Eighth Floor – Fade Away

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 24- Eighth Floor – Fade Away

Yugi and Yami were both sent flying in an updraft towards the single ray of light and out of the deep pit filled with darkness.

Yami let out a scream of terror as he and Yugi were engulfed in light… and ended up back on a hard stone floor in the tower. Yami sat bolt-upright and stared around him in panic, trying to figure out what was going on. His thoughts were on nothing but fire, flying knives, floods, and the earth shaking… but no nothing like that was here, he was lying on the floor, and was safe for the moment.

Relief filled his body as he let out a sigh, glad to be out of that pit. At least until he heard a sniffle and a muffled cry from next to him. As Yami looked he saw a figure that was pale as a ghost, and looked as thin and weak as a skeleton… Yugi…

Yami felt his heart snap right in two as he took his friend into his arms once again… if he could trade places with Yugi right now… to save Yugi and have himself be the one that was on the verge of death… he would gladly trade his life.

"Yugi?" Yami whispered in a quiet and broken voice. "Yugi? Can you hear me?"

"You are wasting your breath," said his father's voice from in front of him. Yami looked up to see his father leaning up against the wall with a cool and casual expression on his face… like he didn't care just how many people were now gone thanks to him.

"Shut up," Yami said bitterly yet in a voice that was almost as calm as his father's had been as he pulled Yugi's head up a little bit and laid him on his lap. Yami's eyes were shadowed by his blond bangs, hiding them from his father's gaze, knowing that shouting wasn't going to get him anywhere. He then gently placed a hand on Yugi's cheek, trying to wake him up, only to frown when Yugi flinched and cowered back, whimpering pathetically.

"Shh..." Yami murmured, gently stroking his face, trying to give his partner whatever comfort he could.

"You moving or not?" dad said as he strutted over to where they were. "Come on. We only have one more level to go before we reach the top. And as soon as I get what I want, then I'll be sure to put an end to your suffering."

If Yami could… he would have strangled his father right then and there. "Can't you see Yugi's dying?" Yami croaked out as tears fell down from behind his bangs and onto Yugi's face. "What about all those people who are now gone from this world? Why did this have to happen? How do you know you can control that power? What do you intend to do even if you COULD control that power? What happened to you father? You used to be someone who believed in helping others not just yourself."

Yami glared up at him. "I know that deep down, you're still a good person… so please… prove me right."

His father looked down at him with a strange look in his eyes. Yami was just wondering what was going through his mind when his father said darkly, "If you won't carry your friend, then I'll put him out of his misery. Now move it or else."

Yami let out a breaking sob as he picked up Yugi and began to follow him. He didn't care if he lived or died, as long as Yugi survived. If he could get Yugi out of this mess alive, then he would handle any form of pain in the future.

As he climbed the stairs, in no time at all, the next riddle began to form in midair.

"Ah," his dad said. "The tower's not wasting any time with next floor."

_Echoes from a shadow realm, _

_Whispers of things past and yet to come,_

_Thought's strange sister  
dwells in night, is swept away in dawning light.  
What is it?_

"You tell me," whispered Yami. _'And get me and Yugi a ride out of here while you're at it,'_ he thought.

The light became so bright that it blinded them… and then it all faded away.

_*Yugi*_

He was watching his mother tending to their little vegetable garden in the back; she was showing him how to tell when the vegetables were ripe enough to be picked.

_(Cough, cough)_

"Mommy," said Yugi worriedly. "Are you ok?" his mother started to cough very violently.

His mother nodded. "I'm fine Yugi," she said. "I just need to rest now. Why don't you go and find your father?"

Yugi nodded as he stood up and went off into the village to see where hi s father had gone. He wandered around the village for a few hours and couldn't find him; in fact he couldn't find anyone. Everyone was locked inside their houses, and from what Yugi knew, they were all sick.

When he knew that his father wasn't in the village he decided to head home, the thought that his father had returned home while he was gone. As he made his way home… he could feel a kind of chill in the air. Yugi couldn't understand why… it was a very warm night… and yet he could feel shivers going down his spine. He had an uneasy feeling that he couldn't shake off.

He didn't know why… but he knew that he had to get home. He then took off running towards the running towards the house. He was afraid… for what? He didn't know. He just knew without the shadow of a doubt that he had to get home to find his mother and father.

When he finally got home he looked around. His mother wasn't kneeling at the garden where he last saw her and still no sign of his father.

He walked slowly up to the front door… "Mommy?" he said quietly. "Daddy? Are you there?"

No answer. Nobody answered him… he felt hot… and then cold. And a terrible ache in his heart… as though something was squeezing it very tightly. "Mommy? Daddy?" he called out a little louder.

Still he got no answer. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and very slowly walked into his house. And what he saw would haunt him until his own dying day. Both his mother and father were lying on the floor… eyes opened… mouths agape. A disgusting, rotting smell was starting to emanate from their bodies… the plague had taken away his family.

Yugi stood there completely frozen in horror… and he then let out a terrible scream. A scream that echoed with his fear … his sorrow… his pain, a scream that not even he could imagine how horrible it could be.

NO NO! NOT AGAIN! THIS CAN'T BE REAL!

The image faded and Yugi was left alone in the darkness. Yugi stared around him, trying to find something that he could recognize… but he could see nothing but dark… that is until he looked down at his feet.

Yugi let out a scream as he was staring down at the earth… he was in the night sky?

Stars began to shine, confirming that he was no longer on the ground…

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" he screamed his voice full of terror and trauma. He shut his eyes, wishing that it would all just go away. Suddenly he felt the wind picking up… wait… why was the wind flying up?

Oh no…

The wind wasn't flying up… he was falling down.

He began to scream as he plummeted towards the earth, flapping his arms, as if that would keep him airborne. But it was no use. He was going to die and there wasn't anything he could do. He shut his eyes again, and waited for the impact…

But as he fell, the rushing sound of the wind faded into music… or maybe he was just going crazy. Who was that singing?

_A twinkle in the night sky _

_Far, far away_

_A golden star I gazed upon _

_In my dreams_

_On a sleepless evening _

_I sing alone_

_Tomorrow I'll sing with you_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On a sleepless evening _

_I sing alone_

_Tomorrow I'll sing with you_

_On the wings of a dream_

_On a sleepless evening _

_I sing alone_

_Tomorrow I'll sing with you_

_On the wings of a dream_

_'What's going on?'_ thought Yugi as the singing continued. _'This isn't possible. It must mean that this is all just a…'_

_*Yami*_

5 year old Yami was running in a large open field with a man running after him. The man tackled him and brought him down in a tickle fight in front of a large, wooden house. From the window a woman's figure could be seen, laughing at the sight of Yami and the man playing. Her eyes following every move that they made; the little boy waving at the woman to join them; she grinned as she came out the door.

The man who was tickling him stood up and spoke to the woman, "My dearest, you shouldn't be up. You still need to rest."

The woman merely waved her hand and said, "It's alright, I'm feel well today."

She then joined the man as they began to play and chase around the field with Yami. Yami laughed and jumped as the woman danced around them with a small ball and throwing it at them… they played for a long time… until the woman began to cough and didn't stop.

His father went over to her side immediately and asked, "Dearest… I told you not to come out!"

The woman just continued to cough as she leaned up against the man. "I-I'm find," she stuttered as she put her hand over her heart.

"Mamma?" asked Yami sadly coming over to them. "Are you still sick?"

The man frowned but didn't say anything. He then looked down at Yami, and said, "Yami? Why don't you go and play with your friends in the village for a little while? I'll take care of your mother."

Yami nodded his head and went running off in the direction of the village.

Upon his return, Yami wasn't greeted with smiles from his parents… instead he was greeted by tragedy. Yami walked through the fields and into the house to see his mother on the floor… her once beautiful tan skin was now covered with a crimson red liquid from her mouth. His little body shook with terror as he walked slowly walked into the room… his father was leaning over her.

"I told you…" hissed his father. "You were sick… you shouldn't have come out…"

Yami ran to his parents with tears running down his face. "Dad? Did mama's cough get worse? What's wrong with her? Dad?" When he reached out a small hand to him his father stood up and let out a scream of grief and pain.

"DAD?" Yami yelled as he fell backwards on the stone floor, terrified of his father now. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"SHUT UP!" his father yelled as he spun around and slapped him so hard that he could taste blood. Yami put his hand to his face and stared up at the man that he admired and loved… he had never hit him before.

His father's eyes no longer had any of the warmth that Yami knew so well… they were wide and looked like they belonged to a mad dog that he had seen in the village once… before the village then decided to kill it.

His dad turned and ran from the house… leaving his sobbing son behind. Yami sniffled as he turned towards his mother. She wasn't breathing and the blood from her mouth trickled down onto the floor… he crawled over to her and hugged her cold body close to him. "Mama," he cried, "Please wake up. Something's wrong with dad… please wake up and make everything better…"

Tears began to fall, the body he was holding was cold but the red fluid around him was still warm. He shut his eyes, wishing everything would go away.

Suddenly heard a voice that seemed to be coming from everywhere, it was a voice that sounded so familiar but he couldn't remember where he heard it before.

"This must mean that this is a DREAM!"

Yami's eyes snapped open at the sound of the voice… and the next thing he knew was that he was standing on a stone floor in a dark room with a faint light shining from underneath a door right above them.

Yami blinked several times, trying to make sense on where he was and what was happening…

"Y-Y-Ya-Yam-Yami?" stuttered a weak voice that he didn't recognize. Yami turned at his feet and looked to see a small boy leaning up against the wall… he looked so weak and tired that for a moment he thought that the boy was dead.

Then he saw that he was breathing… but just barely.

For a brief moment, Yami wondered who the boy was… and then everything came flooding back to him. "Yugi!" Yami cried as he ran to him and wrapped his arms around Yugi's tiny frame. "Yugi! Can you hear me? Please, stay with me! Don't die on me please! I'm going to save you! Just hang on until I do!"

"Oh don't bother," said his father's voice. "The boy is nearly dead. I'd leave him here if I were you."

Yami raised his head to see his dad standing in the shadows by the door with the light shining through the cracks. "We've done it!" his dad said with the air of a child about to receive a big treat.

Yami shook his head… how can this be the same man who once played with him and his mother just a few years ago? How could this have happened?

But then he realized the answer from his dream: His mother had gotten sick… and she died… that was when all this happened. If she had lived he knew that none of this would've happened.

"We have arrived," his father said gleefully rubbing his hands together. "The final floor… the prize is just beyond this door!"

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	25. Reaching the Top

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 25- The Siege of the Tower

"We have arrived," his father said gleefully rubbing his hands together. "The final floor… the prize is just beyond this door!"

"Who cares?" Yami hissed as he heaved his friend up from the floor, looking around as if hoping for a doorway out of this tower. "Why did this have to happen?" he then asked himself as he cuddled his friend's body close to him. "What do you think you're doing? How could you let someone as innocent as Yugi just die like this?" he then yelled at him, but his father just took a few steps ahead so that he put a distance between them. "How could you be so heartless? He did nothing wrong, and you decide to take his life away!" Yami would've gone on and on for awhile if not for the fact that Yugi had started coughing up blood and was struggling to breathe.

"YUGI?" Yami yelled as he pulled Yugi's head up until it was resting on his shoulder. "Yugi… please…" he begged.

Slowly, Yugi's coughing had stopped, and his breathing had started to relax. Yami felt as if his heart was breaking into a thousand tiny pieces at the sight of his tear stained face and the blood that was dripping down from Yugi's mouth.

Feeling tears burning the edges of his own eyes, Yami brushed his thumb across his mouth, wiping away the trail of blood trickling down his thin face.

"Heh, Yami… forget about the kid. He's already on death's doorstep."

Now normally, Yami would've started yelling at his dad again… but this time… he knew that he was right. Yugi was barely alive, and was surely suffering terrible agony right now. "Yugi?" Yami whispered. "I don't know if you can hear me… but if you can… if it gets to be too much for you… if you feel like you can't take anymore… then please…"

Yami's voice broke after that, "Don't stay here. Go to where there isn't any more pain and suffering… and I'll be meeting you there as soon as I deal with my dad ok? Don't worry about me… I'll…"

But Yami couldn't go on. No he would NOT be ok. It's not that he couldn't live without Yugi by his side, it's just that he didn't want to try.

"You're pathetic Yami," he heard his father say as if from far away. He then heard the sound of a door opening and the entire room was then bathed in light. Yami's back was too the door and was so focused on Yugi, that he barely registered the sudden blinding light.

"Yugi…" Yami said as he hugged Yugi as tightly as he could to him and shutting his eyes as the flood of tears began to fall. "I'm so sorry for getting you involved in this. You'll always be my best friend… I only hope that you can forgive me for this."

"Y-Y-Yami?" whispered a voice so faint that Yami didn't hear it.

"Oh Yugi…" Yami croaked out. "I wish that we could go back and start over. I would've been a lot more careful if I had known that this was going to happen. If I had known what my father was after, then I never would've let us come back north. Sometimes I can't believe that this is real… you were the very last person I ever wanted something to happen to. You were my friend…"

"We'll always be friends Yami… and that's pretty real…"

"Yugi?" Yami said pushing Yugi's head back so that he could look at his face. "Yugi are you…?"

"Yami…" Yugi croaked as he raised his hand to grasp Yami's. "I'm so glad that you're alright."

"Yugi…" Yami sobbed. "For once in your life! Please worry about yourself!"

Yugi gave him a feeble smile, "Sorry… force of habit." Yugi then scrunched up his face and shut his eyes tightly as the bright light flooded his vision, making it hard for him to see as his pupils couldn't take such illuminating pain. From behind his eyes, he could see that the bright light decrease, and knew that Yami was protecting him again after seeing him open and immediately close his eyes only seconds before.

He reopened his eyes, finding that despite the bright light, his vision was still blurry. After a couple of minutes, Yugi was able to clear his foggy vision, finding that his eyes were extremely puffy from crying.

He reached up and grasped Yami's shoulder and managed to croak out, "Yami? We have to stop him… if we don't do it… then who will?" He took a shuttering gasp before continuing, "And then we can go right?"

Yami merely lowered his head to hide his eyes as he let his misery take over. "Yeah… we'll leave… but where to? What now? Where do we go? I don't know… I don't know what to do anymore."

"Well… well then," gasped Yugi with an innocent smile. "How about we find out together? Once we get out of here… we'll find a place where we can be free of all this fighting? My… my mother once said to me… that there is a place in this world where we all belong, where we can be as free as the wind and as reckless as the waves. We could sleep on the sand and walk the shores and we can swim forever into the depths of the sea. We explore the places where people have never been and we'll see creatures that no one else ever has. That's where I want to be forever and ever. I wish that we can be there, live in peace you know?"

Yami listened… before he nodded as more hot tears began to fall… "Yes. And someday we will."

Yami wiped his eyes angrily as he then stood up with Yugi in his arms and quite forgetting how tired and weak he was. "Yugi… if you're still ready to fight… then let's go teach that no good excuse of a father a lesson or two."

Yugi smiled as he let himself be carried off. "Yami? No matter what happens… you know I'll be there."

"I know," gasped Yami as he struggled under Yugi's weight. "And that's why I haven't given up yet.

Yami got up and made his way through the door… the final floor.

It was a large room made of some kind of marble, worn with time and weather… there was a roof overhead, and large windows surrounding all the sides that showed the ocean…

Yami took a deep breath of fresh air… he never thought that he would see the ocean again. The sky had grown dark and the rain began to pour as a thunderstorm began to come to life. It was then that he heard the sound of insane laughter.

His father was standing before what appeared to be a shrine… and floating in midair above it… was what appeared to be some kind of crystal. But instead of stone, it looked as if it was made when light shines through the water and is then merged together with starlight. It was as bright as the sun, and was pulsing with power.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" his dad cackled. "Observe well, Yami! Watch and mark yourself the suffering of one who must rule, yet lacks the power!"

"No," Yami said surprisingly calm as he gently put Yugi back down before he walked up to stand in front of him. "No, father I will not. Though I lack your power, I made a promise to protect my friend."

His dad, in anger, slapped Yami hard across the cheek. "You confound me, son! You failed to stop me... all you were to protect. Yet you still continue to fight back. How is this?"

Despite the stinging cheek, Yami was holding his head high. "I have something more important to defend," he said proudly. "And I will continue to defend him." Yami looked back at Yugi and said, "Yugi, here taught me more than you ever have… done more for me then you ever could. It's because of him that I still go on. I will not let you have it! The ultimate power be damned!"

"Watch your tongue you little whelp! You and your spiky-haired friend are history!"

"Hey! You can insult me! You can insult my manners! You can even insult my hair! But when you insult Yugi, that's when I get angry! For his sake if nothing else!" Yami glared at him, "I'm gonna stop you even if it kills me!"

"YOU? STOP ME? THAT HAS TO BE THE MOST RIDICULOUS THINK I EVER HEARD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!" he screamed before holding up his hands towards the light, "Shards of light! Crystal of power! Spill forth your might upon this world! Let this world be washed in it! Lend your power to me! Let this be known that this power is back in the hands of humans!

Suddenly, his father was engulfed in the light, the power that was coming from the jem was so great that Yami was thrown back and hit the wall so hard that he left a Yami-sized crater. Yami spit out blood as he slid down the wall, and watched as the stars began to cover his vision.

"You hunted for the power for this? You came all this way for the ultimate power for what? To become a god yourself?" he cried out, though he couldn't see anymore.

"On who's shoulders better to stand than those of the would-be gods?" his father yelled out from somewhere above him. "Oh such high hopes I once had… but you ran and ran and they ran with you! I'll finish you off here with my own two hands! Prepare yourself Yami! Once I become one with the ultimate prize… it's all over!"

As Yami was fighting to stand up again, another ribbon of light began to criss-cross in midair. Looking up, Yami saw that the words were just as confusing as the ones on the floors below.

_If you break me  
I do not stop working,  
If you touch me  
I may be snared,  
If you lose me  
Nothing will matter._

"What the hell does that mean?" he screamed out in frustration. "Why does my life suck?"

_*Yugi*_

What Yami didn't know was that Yugi had been watching the whole thing.

But as Yugi watched he noticed that a feeble light was glowing near his head; he turned his worn-out body so that he could read the familiar writing… for a second he was expecting another riddle… but what he got instead was…

_This Tower… who makes a soaring gamble with the breeze._

_Since ancient times has been upheld by the efforts of two great twin trees._

_Their entwining made the flowers grow… and a bountiful country all would know._

_Their living touch brought harmony to all their kith and kin… _

_till a man beguiled by evil committed mortal sin._

_But there are some bonds eternal, what mankind has now undone,_

_ this tower which was once was two, but now is not but one._

_Should it wither, we shall all fall._

_'The world will fall?'_ thought Yugi in panic. _'What is this about?'_ He didn't want to read anymore, but he couldn't help but continue…

_True and faithful child, who offers the quickening of life by your touch, _

_and the redemption of mankind in your heart. _

_Give yourself as an offering; less the land be torn apart. _

_Deep within you, part of me thou dos lie… but it's cutting thus the world will crumple and die. _

_The covenant time draws ever near, the earth shall weep until you appear. _

_'What does that mean?'_ he thought. _'Is this why I was born? Is this why I'm the 'chosen one'? Is this my destiny? To be a sacrificed lamb?'_


	26. The Siege of the Tower

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 26- The Siege of the Tower

_'What does that mean?'_ he thought. _'Is this why I was born? Is this why I'm the 'chosen one'? Is this my destiny? To be a sacrificed lamb?'_

Yugi could feel the tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes. _'I'm… I'm supposed to die? IS that it?'_

"What am I supposed to do?" he whispered as the sound of fighting began sound dull to his ears. At that moment he heard someone speak.

_"Can you hear me?"_ asked a deep voice.

Yugi's eyes widened. He didn't know where that voice came from so he whispered, "Y-yes?"

_"Ah, you can hear me… that's good,"_ the voice whispered.

Yugi looked around him, trying to see where the voice was coming from. "I can't see you. Where are you?" he whispered.

_"Right here,"_ the voice replied.

"Who are you?" Yugi asked, not understanding what was going on.

_"Details, details,"_ the voice said. _"Just listen to me. Do you wish to save your friend?"_

Yugi looked over at the struggle that was going on between Yami and his father. Yugi was scared that if this kept up then Yami was going to get killed.

"Yes," he whispered. "But what can I do like this? I can't even… breathe… without feeling like I'm about to pass out."

_"All you have to do is answer one final riddle, and I'll be summoned. But I feel that I should tell you that if you do solve this riddle… your life will end. That is the price you must pay for allowing me to come forth,"_ the voice said.

"You mean…?" Yugi said as he began to cry again. "The only way that I can help Yami is… that I'm gonna…"

_"Long ago,"_ the voice went on. _"Two great and powerful magicians created this tower to protect this world."_

"Protect it?" Yugi whispered, "Protect it from what?"

_"Protect it from the prize that this man is so blinded to get,"_ it answered. _"There are many others like him who are so desperate to get it that they are blinded to everything else around them."_

"The power?" Yugi repeated through numb lips.

_"These two wizards were very wise to seal it away, however they knew that there will be those willing to do anything and everything to get here and will eventually succeed. And so they placed me here to guard it."_

"You?" Yugi asked confused before an idea formed in his mind. Could this voice really be…? "A-are y-y-you…?"

_"Yes, young one,"_ answered the voice who sounded please. _"I am Miasmador."_

"The guardian of the tower…" Yugi whispered, "The dragon who guards this place… you're really real."

_"Oh course I'm real, Yugi,"_ Miasmador said, _"But now… I cannot protect this place like I'm supposed to. I need your light to defeat this darkness."_

"Light?" Yugi asked. "What light?" He then turned his gaze upon the shining crystal that was sparkling above him.

_"No, not that light," _Miasmador said, _"That is a dark light. The light of destruction. No, I need your light_ to fight. What say you?"

"My light?" Yugi repeated, "What are you talking about? I don't have any light."

_"That is where you are wrong Yugi," _said Miasmador. _"You yourself don't realize what a strange person you are. In the hearts of all humans, there is both light and darkness, the two live together side by side. One can't even exist without the other. You can't have one without the other… because darkness is half of everything. However… you aren't like that at all."_

"What do you mean I'm not like that?" Yugi questioned, "Does that mean that I'm not normal?"

_"No, you are not,"_ answered Misasmador. _"Yes, you are certainly a human being, and you do have a kind and gentle heart, but I can detect not the slightest trace of darkness or any kind of evil coming from your heart. Only the most good hearted and pure of spirit could make it thus…"_

"But…" Yugi began, trying to understand what was going on.

_"This island,"_ went on Misasmador as if he wasn't interrupted, _"Is actually being upheld by the efforts of two great twin trees."_

"Trees?" Yugi asked startled.

_"Yes, they grow beneath the ocean's surface. Their entwining made the land that we all stand on… and the tower was built on top of it. But now, because of the wickedness of this man here, the trees are dying. His darkness is like a poison and has seeped into the land, killing the trees. One tree has already withered and died, while the other is now struggling to hold on. If this keeps up, then it won't be much longer before it too dies."_

"So that's what the riddle said before," Yugi said thoughtfully. "But what will happen if the remaining tree dies?"

_"This island, this tower, and everyone on it will crumple and fall into the sea."_

"What?" Yugi said in a panic though in his weaken state it was hardly above a whisper. "If we're in so much danger then why don't you do something?"

_"I wish I could young one,"_ Misasmador answered regretfully. _"But my strength has waned. And in order to be summoned then I need the power of a pure light."_

"In other words…" Yugi said as tears formed in his eyes. "You need my light to save Yami."

_"… Yes."_

"And I'll…?" Yugi asked, though knowing the answer.

_"Most certainly die, all you must do is answer one final riddle, and it'll all end. Of course… no one is making you do this. The choice is… yours. What do you wish to do? But answer quickly."_

Yugi was torn… he didn't want to die, was it painful to die? He never thought that it would end like this… no he couldn't do it… he was too scared. But…

He used what little energy he had to turn his head back towards the fight between father and son. Yami was on the ground holding a bleeding shoulder and looked to be in pain. He gasped as armor suddenly appeared on Yami's opponent.

Yami's father armor was thunderous clang, that formed one titanic, mailed warrior, whom the cavernous mouth uttered an earthly metallic bellow; his eyes glowed. In one hand he wielded an enormous, double-headed ax.

Yugi whimpered. He felt the ground tremble as Yami's father, ax raised, walked forward and stamped toward them. He had never felt more useless. He wanted to help, but he couldn't think of anything that he could do. It wasn't fair.

He realized that he couldn't take it. He wanted to be by Yami's side, he couldn't stand the thought that he was lying here like a rag doll when his friend was fighting for his life… he was going to help him… even if it did kill him.

"What is the riddle?" he asked quickly, "What can I do to save Yami?"

"Then you choose to save him?" the dragon's voice asked as if making sure what Yugi was saying.

"Of course I do!" Yugi said with as much force as he can. "I'm the only one who can right? SO I will. Besides…"

_'Besides,'_ he thought to himself, _'I'm in such bad shape that I won't be around for much longer. At least this way… this way I can at least save Yami. I just hope that he won't be to mad at me later."_

"Here is the riddle," said Misasmador.

_If you break me  
I do not stop working,  
If you touch me  
I may be snared,  
If you lose me  
Nothing will matter._

Yugi blinked several times before he gave a small smile. He knew what that riddle was right away… all he had to do was say the answer… and he will die. He looked back at Yami who got back up onto his feet and standing up to his father.

"If I do this…" Yugi began, "Then you have to promise me that you'll save Yami."

"Is that the condition for giving me your light?" asked Misasmador.

"Yes," Yugi said as Yami jumped and dodged as best as he could from his father's blows.

"Very well," said Misasmador, "You have my word that I'll protect him and do whatever I can to save him."

"Then… that's good enough," Yugi said as he let his tears fall. He shut his eyes, trying to block out the sounds of the fight before he whispered to himself, "If you break it, it doesn't stop working… if it's touched then it can be captured… if you lose it… then there's no point in living… the answer is…"

Yugi's life suddenly flashed before his eyes… he was back at his village and living happily with his parents before the plague took them both.

He was riding in the cart right after he left home.

He spent the night in the neighboring village and met Yami for the first time.

The few days that they spent together at the spring.

All their adventures on the road.

Yugi getting sick and meeting Ishizu.

Seeing the ocean for the first time…

Yami's face smiling and laughing as if he hadn't had a care in the world…

Yugi smiled a wide smile before muttering with his last breath, "The heart."

And then everything went dark as he felt his light leave, not only his body, but this world

_*Yami*_

Yami's father laughed his atrocious, dark, twisted laugh… and there he was. Yami looked up, trembling slightly when he saw who was standing there facing him. His dad then shot at Yami, the force of the attack slammed Yami into the wall behind them.

But when dad readied himself for another attack, Yami sprung to his feet. He wiped off the blood from his face just as one of his father's arms flew at Yami again. Yami dodged his arm then ran toward him; as if he was ready to throw a punch, but his father was one step ahead of him and used his other arm to block.

"You'll have to try harder than that to beat me Yami," he said.

Yami snarled, "Why dad? Wasn't my suffering enough? Leave us alone!"

"You really think that I could leave you alone after all this? I will never let you or your friend go!" his old man yelled.

Yami then charged in without thinking, angered by his father's taunts. His dad let lose another blast of light just as Yami goes around it, just barely dodging it; he looked behind him. When Yami turned around, one of the light beams slashed at his shoulder. Yami fell in pain, grasping his arm as blood began to flow.

Yami holds his shoulder with his left hand, trying to block out his pain. Light unexpectedly blinded him and he had to roll over onto his stomach to try and block it out.

"Witness!" his father yelled from somewhere behind him, "The power that I now control!"

The light died down slightly enough for Yami to force himself the blink and see what was going on. He gulped and for a moment wished that the light still blinded him.

Dad was now in a thick and powerful armor to protect him.

His father armor was thunderous clang, that formed one titanic, mailed warrior, whom the cavernous mouth uttered an earthly metallic bellow; his eyes glowed. In one hand he wielded an enormous, double-headed ax.

_'The armor must've been made from the damn crystal,'_ Yami thought gritting his teeth. The floor trembled as his dad, ax raised, walked forward.

Yami let out a snarl, "Stay back!" but it was a mere squeaking sound in comparison to the terrible noise made by this Goliath of a demon.

He had never felt more useless. He couldn't think of anything to stop this guy, the best he could do was start running around at his feet, trying to avoid getting trampled.

Unexpectedly, a new sound appeared, startling them both.

It was a roar that sounded like the ultimate war cry, one that rang with centuries of wisdom and power; and from behind his father something suddenly came charging at him… Yami's jaw dropped…

It was a dragon.

The dragon had entered the tower from the outside. Easily fitting through the open walls, it's wings spread wide in warning. It was a dragon with piercing red eyes and scales as black as the night…

***Red-eyes black dragon!***

The dragon let out another roar as it advanced towards them, it let lose an inferno ball of fire towards the man in metal. It reflected of it as easily as if it was water. The dragon came in closer, and it claws were able to leave a large gash across the shield. Yami's father was not done yet however, he sent an energy shock that blasted the dragon away from him and forced it back outside. Once the dragon was out of sight, he turned back towards Yami.

He had come close enough to aim a massive ax blow at his son, but Yami rolled out of the way just in time. The attack missed him, but gashed a great fissure on the wall and floor where Yami had laid not only seconds before.

A fountain of sparks spurted from the steel axhead, forcing Yami to run past the giant feet, but dad jerked rapidly around and smashed his ax down again with both hands. Screaming, Yami leaped, and the ax hammered the ground between them, burying itself among shattered paving stones. The colossal withdrew it effortlessly, and now, crouching, he delivered a scything swing at them. He threw himself flat, and heard the ax whiz over them with a noise like an ignited rocket.

The descending ax carved a slice off a buttress. Blow followed blow. Each one would have left no more of Yami than there is of a bug squashed on a wall. All that had saved them so far was the inflexible, jerky motion of his father's attack, which gave them a split second's forewarning of where the next annihilating crash was aimed.

It was only a matter of time before he finally hit Yami, when suddenly the dragon appeared again and continued the battle.

Yami's father received all the blows the dragon kept dishing out at him. The black dragon kept firing fireball and fireball at him dad while at the same time, standing between Yami and the brute killer. That was when Yami realized that the dragon was protecting him.

Yami began to tremble, he didn't want to watch but he knew that he had to do something…

That was when he had an idea… it was crazy and what he was about to do could get him killed… but it would also give the dragon a fighting chance.

"HEY YOU GIANT SCRAP HEAP!" Yami yelled, trying to get his father's attention. "OVER HERE!"

His father heard the insult and turned back towards Yami, "THIS IS THE END FOR YOU YAMI!" he yelled as he then tossed his ax, so blinded to kill Yami that he failed to notice where Yami was standing…

Right in front of the crystal of power.

Yami dived out of the way once again as the ax went flying pass him before it embedded itself in the crystal that his father was so obsessed with gaining.

"NO!" his old man yelled as power came spilling forth from the jewel's power, which gave the dragon time to attack when his enemy was weakened.

Yami didn't bother to watch; he leapt up one final time and streaked towards Yugi, who was lying motionless on the stone floor. Just as Yami reached him, he dove right on top of him to try to shield him from the ongoing battle.

_'Just hang on a little longer, Yugi,'_ he prayed as he tried to ignore the sounds of fireballs and metal scraping across the stone, and as the rocks began to fall from around them. It was like the end of the world was happening, and they were right smack dap in the middle of hell.

Yami didn't know how much time had passed… but finally, after what felt like an eternity, the sounds of fireballs quieted down and the stones stopped falling.

When the screaming had died down… the sounds of metal fell to the ground with crashes. Slowly, afraid of what he would see, raised his head slightly to get a peek at what was going on. What he saw shocked him to the core.

His father was standing there, his armor almost completely destroyed, and blood dripping onto the floor. He stood there for a moment before what was left of his shell all fell to pieces. It was as if years of corrosion were coming by in seconds until, all that was left was a pile of twisted metal and rust. The dragon was still standing tall, but had deep gashes and wounds all over its body.

Yami looked at his father's defeated form… he hated him for everything he'd done… and yet…

Slowly, as if moving against his will, he stood up and began to approach the man that had caused all this pain and suffering…

His dad was looking at the ground, breathing hard, as blood dripped from his burnt and open injuries. As Yami got closer, he could hear some of the things that he was saying:

"Oh, how did this happen? Where did I go wrong? Just where did I go wrong?"

Yami walked forward a few more steps until he stood a few feet away from his father. Dad finally looked up at him.

"Was there no other way?" Yam asked quietly.

His father smiled… yet it wasn't the mad twisted smile that Yami had seen… for a moment, he looked like his old self… before mom had died… back when he was still a loving father… Yami felt tears beginning to form again. He was crying for his father, for the old days, for everything that happened here. He just couldn't figure out why this had to turn out.

"Spend your pity elsewhere. If you are so set on running… shouldn't you be off? Fool of a son," he whispered as his eyes closed and he fell forward… dead.

It was all over.

And Yami was still alive.

Yet why did he feel like he lost something important? Why did he feel like it was a hallow victory?

That was when it hit him… Yugi still needed help.

In a panic, he ran back to his friend who still didn't move an inch and began to shake him. "Yugi? Yugi, wake up! We're safe now! We can go!"

But Yugi didn't answer.

Yami didn't like this, so he gently turned him over onto his back so that he could see his face. "Yugi? Can you hear me?" Yugi still didn't move or respond to him. Yami shook him softly, screaming his name.

"YUGI? YUGI? YUGI, PLEASE WAKE UP!"

He screamed until his voice was hoarse, but it didn't make the slightest difference.

His dearest friend wasn't breathing and his heart, his strong and pure heart was no longer beating.

Yugi was gone…

**(Sorry for taking so long with this story. but i've had a lot on my mind lately. This story is finally almost over, only one more chapter and the epilouge to do. If you're upset about Yugi, just remember the story isn't over yet! Please review!)**


	27. Under the Dragon's Wing

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 27- Under Dragon's Wing

Yami could only sit there as a paralyzing cold began to invade his already broken heart. '_How could I let this happen? What have I done?' _he thought over and over again. This was worse than fighting his father. The scratches and bruises all over his friend's body were caused by him, and he could not blame any other influence for his actions this time. He knelt down beside Yugi and reached down to lift him up. He raised Yugi's head in his arms as supported his back and head. Even now he could feel the soothing warmth of his aibou's spirit touching his soul, but how long would it last? Yugi's eyes were still closed. "Speak to me, please!"

But there was no point. He might've been talking to the stone wall for all the answers he got. Hot tears feel down his face onto Yugi's still warm body as he sobbed. Yami sat there, gazing blankly at his feet, his mind in state of almost disrepair.

Yami had once again retreated within his mind, searching desperately for some spark of hope in the seemingly never-ending darkness. But Yami could no longer bring himself to hope.

How long he sat there, he had no idea. He didn't take in anything else around him for what felt like an eternity.

That is until he finally noticed something written into the thick stone near his feet.

_If you break me  
I do not stop working,  
If you touch me  
I may be snared,  
If you lose me  
Nothing will matter._

_'That's easy,'_ Yami thought as he pressed his tear-stained face into Yugi's hair. He didn't have to think twice about this riddle… "My heart."

"Well, said," answered a deep voice from behind him. Yami spun around on his knees to see the dragon lying on the mostly destroyed floor, recovering from his wounds. He was looking at them with his blood-red eyes, his claws clinkered against what remained of the stone floor, and sadness seemed to be etched in his face.

Yami had forgotten all about the dragon.

"Ah," he began. "Thank you for helping me… but…"

"Yes, I haven't introduced myself have I?" the dragon said. "But I thought that you could figure out my name by now."

Yami thought for a moment… and the words that were written on the front door came back to him:

_Leave behind the dark, to enter the light.  
Beyond here, lies power. Here be fright.  
Beyond here, the dragon, flame and flight.  
Beyond here, pure fire, here be grief.  
Harmful to all but those of pure belief.  
Beware the creeping treasure-thief.  
Beware much worse the dragon-slayer.  
Beware his purse and curse his payer.  
Beware these words. Preserve their sayer.  
Earth and water, fire and air.  
Prepare to meet a creature rare.  
Enter, now, if you dare.  
Enter, now... the dragon's lair!_

"Misasmador," Yami croaked. "You must be Misasmador!"

Misasmador nodded his great head. "Yes, I'm glad to see that you remember my name."

Yami turned back to Yugi before asking, "Why did this happen?"

"To save you of course," replied the dragon.

Yami's eyes widen. "To—save me?" he demanded. "What are you talking about?"

Misasmador lowered his head sadly. "My duty is to guard this tower. However, in order to summon me… I need someone who has a strong and pure hear to call me out. This can only work if the person can generate a large amount of light from their heart for a prolonged period of time. Your friend had a great deal of light from his heart, just what I needed to be summoned. But given how bad his condition was…"

"You mean…" Yami began slowly, his insides turning cold as if his heart was freezing over. "Yugi… he's gone… because he wanted to save me?"

Misasmador didn't answer, which was all the answer that Yami needed.

_*Yugi*_

Yugi carefully walked through this neverending darkness; trying so hard to be brave, although all he could see was fear covering his eyes as they started to flow with tears. As he wondered, yearning for Yami to come here to embrace and comfort him; he started to cry and wonder why he was left alone to hope alone... in this dreamland.

He didn't have the slightest idea where he was. All he could remember was his energy slowly fading away and hearing Yami's voice yelling at his father.

He rubbed at his eyes to force the tears away and continued walking through this dark realm… trying to find his way out. Until he came to a large river that seemed to stretch into eternity, and he knew that there was no way to get across it on his own.

Hopelessness seemed to enter his heart as he fell back down onto the ground. Finally, he was ready to give up… ready to fade away so that he wouldn't have to feel anything anymore.

"Do you really want to give up now?" asked a voice that radiated wisdom and power from behind him. Yugi swirled around to see two people standing there watching him.

One was a woman that looked to be very young… and very pretty. She had long dark hair that reached her waist, and also fell elegantly around her perfect face. She was dressed in long spangled robes, that matched what her companion was wearing.

Her friend was a very old man, he had a long white beard that looked like a large puffy cloud around his lower face… yet he had deep gray eyes that sparkled like a child's would.

"W-who are y-you?" Yugi stammered.

The old man smiled kindly. "My name Yugi… is Merlin. And this here is my dear friend Morgan le Fay. We have come here to ask you what you want to do now."

_*Yami*_

Yami buried his face in Yugi's hair, trying to think of a way to change this. To find a way to escape from reality. "This can't be happening. I can't believe it."

"Believing or not believing will not change anything, this is what's real."

"Who asked you?" Yami yelled. "Just go away! Leave me be. Please, just let me wake up from this nightmare."

"You know as well as I do that this is no nightmare."

"Shut up!"

"This is real."

"I said SHUT UP!"

"Tell me what do you want to do?"

Yami was about to tell him to shut up again, but the question caused him to freeze. "Isn't it obvious? I want my best friend back! I want my abiou back with me! So that we can get off this god-forsaken island and back were we belong. I want to keep living together. Is that too much to ask for?"

The dragon looked at him for a long time, as if trying to figure out if Yami was truly sincere. "And what would you be willing to do to get that?"

"What?" Yami asked stunned.

"If you could bring back your friend… what would you be willing to give up?"

Yami was frozen for a second. Was there way to prove just how sorry he was for everything and he could be given a second chance to make things right? "Can you bring him back?"

"No," answered Misasmador. "But there might be a way for you to do that."

"How?" Yami cried out. "What can I do? What do I do to save him?"

"Then you chose to save him?"

"Of course I do! You said that there might be a way to save him right? Well, I have to try don't I? So I will. What do I do?"

"That depends," said Misasmador. "What are you willing to give up to save him?"

"Anything."

_*Yugi*_

"You—You're Merlin and…"

"Morgan le Fay," replied the young woman striving forward to shake his hand. "But please, just call me Morgan. How are you feeling Yugi?"

"How do you know my name?" Yugi croaked.

Morgan and Merlin both laughed. "Oh, we've known about you for a long time, Yugi," Merlin said, "A long, long time."

"Yep, even before you were born."

"What?" Yugi cried.

Merlin came forward and said, "Long ago, we created this tower to hide the crystal of power. To ensure that no one else will have to suffer because of it."

"No offence," interrupted Yugi, "But it didn't really work."

"Yes, and we're truly sorry of what you were forced to go through," Morgan said. "But everything had to happen for a reason."

"We knew that one day, a child would be born with the ability to make it all the way to the top of the tower and finish what we started."

"But it wasn't me," Yugi said. "Yami was the one who fought…"

"Yes, but you were the one who was willing to die to make sure that your friend would live."

"Is Yami alright then?" Yugi asked.

"Well," Morgan said quietly. "He's alive… but he's far from alright."

"What? Why? What's happening?"

"He's mourning your death," Merlin replied. "He's desperate to find a way to save you."

"How do you know about all this?"

"Because we knew what was to happen. You and Yami were meant to meet up with each other. So we did our best to make sure that happened."

"What do you mean?"

Merlin smiled before he transformed. His body began to shake all over and right before Yugi's eyes he turned into a man, about in his forties… while Morgan transformed into an old donkey. He recognized them both. Yugi took a step backwards and fell on his butt before he was able to cry out, "It's you! You're the man that offered me a ride the day that I left home! That man with the donkey called Alfleda!"

"Glad to see that you remember us," Merlin said before he transformed again. This time he turned into a large horse, while Morgan transformed into a young woman again. "You never saw us in these forms," Morgan said, "But we took these forms to help Yami get to the village just shortly after you did."

Yugi could only stare at them.

"Do you remember the dream that you had that night? You dreamt of seeing Yami before you ever met him?" Morgan asked.

"That was you?" Yugi demanded.

"Yes, we influenced your dreams that night. And we were also the ones that caused those villagers to chase you guys right into each other in the morning. Sorry about that, but we couldn't think of another way for you guys to met up."

Yugi couldn't believe it. All this time… there were two powerful wizards influencing in his and Yami's lives. But why did they do all this?

Both wizards began to transform again…

They took on the form of an old couple… ancient-looking with worn out clothes, and hoods over their heads.

They looked familiar… but he couldn't think where he saw them before…

"So how come I'm the ivy?" Morgan asked. "Why are you the stone?"

"Oh, come on. You're a stubborn woman, just like the ivy is and I'm the stone because I'm never changing. But you always loved change," replied Merlin.

Yugi gave a start. They were the old people that he and Yami saw walking down the road that day…

"You've been watching us all that time?" he croaked.

They altered back to their old forms and Merlin spoke, "Yes, making sure that you both were well taken care of. But to be honest, we really didn't need to do much. Yami took very good care of you."

Yugi's heart gave a small pang. He was wishing more than anything to be back with Yami.

"But why? Why were you doing all this?" he asked.

"We knew that Yami's father was determine to gain this power… to do anything to get it," Merlin said.

"It really is sad," Morgan agreed. "After he lost his wife, he was driven insane by the grief. He wanted the power so that he could find a way to bring her back."

Yugi stared at them, "He did all that to bring someone he loved back to life?"

They both nodded, "We feel sorrow for him. But that still doesn't excuse him for what he's done. He knew that you would have what it takes to reach the top of the tower. And he made you suffer for it."

"But why me?" Yugi demanded. "Why would it be me? I don't understand what's so special about me."

"Because you cannot see what others see," Morgan said.

"Yugi, you have a heart that is completely devoid of darkness. Only a heart like that has the potential to make it here and survive. Only a heart like yours could call Misasmador. You are the chosen one because of your heart."

"But I never could've done it without Yami," Yugi said. "If I didn't have him with me, I would've given up long ago!"

Merlin nodded, "Yes, he was with you all the way. But you also had the guts to look at others and face up to what you saw there. You and Yami faced your demons in the eye and dealt with them. And it is the bond that you both have that has given you the chance to choose what you want."

Yugi cocked his head, not sure what they were talking about.

"What is it that you want to do?" Morgan asked.

"You mean…" Yugi whispered, "I can go back?"

"There is one last challenge you must do however," Merlin answered. "If you are sure that you wish to return to your friend you must solve one last riddle."

"Another riddle?" Yugi moaned.

Morgan laughed, "Yes, but remember… no one is forcing you. You are more than free to decide what you want to do."

"You can choose to go back to Yami… or you can go to where your parents are," Merlin finished.

Yugi's jaw dropped. He could see his mommy and daddy again? He wanted to go and see them again. To be at peace and not have to worry anymore… but… Yami.

"What's the riddle?" he asked quietly.

"Then… You want to keep living?" Morgan asked.

"Yes! Don't get me wrong, I want to see mom and dad again! But if I go, then Yami will be alone again won't he? No one deserves to be alone like that," Yugi cried out. "For god's sake, I'm only a kid. Me and Yami haven't had a chance to live yet! I want… I want to be strong and healthy again. To go back and be with Yami."

"You are on the border of the afterlife. You can go on to heaven, don't return to life, you could go on and suffer no more. Once you make this choice you cannot change your mind. Is this what you really want?" Merlin said as if he was just making sure that Yugi knew what he was getting himself into.

"Yes it is. I don't want to go on just yet. Not without Yami. I still want to go back… even if I'm still weak and sick… I want to keep living with my best friend."

"You do realize what you are asking?" Morgan asked. "Death is peaceful… easy even. Living is the hard part."

"But still… still… I want more life, I can't help myself. I do, I really do want to keep living. I've lived through such difficult ordeals, but there are people who suffer every day, and they keep finding reasons to keep living! I don't know if it's better to die, but I can recognize the habit… the addiction to being alive. We live pass hope. If I can find hope anywhere, then that's it. That's the best I can do. I know that it's not enough… I know that we need something more. But still… I want to go back. I want more life, more time with Yami back on earth."

Yugi took a deep breath before he finished by saying, "What is the riddle?"

The couple smiled and said in a duo:

_Pronounced as one letter,  
And written with three,  
Two letters there are,  
And two only in me.  
I'm double, I'm single,  
I'm black, blue, green, gold, and gray,  
I'm read from both ends,  
And the same either way.  
What am I?_

**(Hey! Only one more chapter to go! Thanks for sticking with this story for so long. And sorry for not updating for so long. I've had a bad case of writer's block.)**


	28. A Dragon's Eye

A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 28- A Dragon's Eye

_*Yami*_

"Anything," he replied.

The dragon nodded his head. "Then answer me one final riddle:"

_Pronounced as one letter,  
And written with three,  
Two letters there are,  
And two only in me.  
I'm double, I'm single,  
I'm black, blue, green, gold, and gray,  
I'm read from both ends,  
And the same either way.  
What am I?_

Yami thought it over for a few minutes before he said, at the exact same moment that Yugi did wherever he was, "An eye."

Yugi felt himself being pulled back, away from Merlin and Morgan's waving figures. He felt warm and safe again… but still very tired and weak. He could feel hot drops of water fall onto his face… what was going on? Where was he? He opened his eyes to see that he was staring straight into Yami's tear filled ones.

"Yugi…" Yami whispered so quietly that no sound came out. He could only mouth the words.

"Y-yami?" croaked out Yugi. "Is that you?"

Yami pulled up Yugi's weakened form and held him tightly; as if he was the only line he had that kept him from going into insanity. "Yugi—don't you EVER scare me like that again!"

"I'm sorry!" Yugi said a little louder. "But what happened? How did I get back here?"

"The bond that you both share is more powerful than your father's desire for power," said the dragon as it stretched his large bat-like wings. "You both deserve another chance. Now you have to leave before it's too late."

"W-wait!" Yami screamed as he half drag/half carried Yugi towards the great dragon. "What do you mean before it's too late?"

At that moment, the floor underneath their feet began to quake. The room was shaking, as if a giant was rumbling right outside, and the sound of crashes and miniature explosions beneath them made it sound as if the floors beneath them were falling apart.

"Get going! Now!" the dragon shouted. "Now that the crystal is destroyed, the island has fulfilled its purpose."

"What do you mean?" Yami shouted.

"Tell us!" Yugi agreed.

"It means that this island is going to sink! Along with everything else on it!"

"SINK!" both boys shouted.

"But how are we supposed to get off?" Yami screamed, "We don't have any way to get off the island!"

Misasmador turned his great head towards the giant window. "I think your ride is already here." Yami and Yugi both looked at where Misasmador was looking—and then they saw it.

Swiftflight… the destroyed, rotting ship that Yami's father had sailed with was floating just outside. But something was happening to it. Both boys stared as the dead ship was coming back to life. The barnacles, weeds, mold, were falling off. The wooden planks that were infested with damaged from worms, rot, battle wounds, and age, were slowly starting to repair itself as the black tar on the hull was fading away as if it was being sprayed with water.

The decayed and rotten ship had just somehow began to mend itself… it was as if someone was turning back the clock to when it was first built.

The rigging was becoming polished and glossy while the huge bowsprit, which was nothing more than a few giant splinters, were mending and fusing together until it was as tall and straight as a tree. Its large square sails hanging from arms on the three masts that were all torn and stained were stitched back together—good as new.

"But… But… How…?" was all Yami could croak out. At least he was able to say anything at all. Yugi just lay there gaping like a big-mouthed bass.

"The ship has a mind of its own," Misasmador replied. "It takes on a form depending on the captain. Your father's heart was black as coal, and ship was forced to become a reflection of it. Now that he's gone, the ship belongs to you now."

"U-U-us?" Yugi stammered.

"You both more than earned it. Just get on board and the ship will do the rest."

"But what about you?" Yugi cried.

"I'm leaving a different way. You both need to leave or you'll end up trapped in the remains," old red-eyes said.

But when they hesitated again, he reached over and was able to pick them both up with his great claw and literally threw them out the window. They landed on the deck of the ship with a loud bang, and immediately, the ship began to move away from the island. Yugi had the wind completely knocked out him; he rolled over onto his back to try and get some air. While Yami hit his head and saw stars. He got back to his feet however and looked back to see that the magnificent tower was shaking and beginning to crumble.

"Misasmador!" Yami called out from the edge.

But he didn't need to worry, among the rubble at the very top of the collapsing structure, a large black shape emerged. The dragon spread out its wide wings and kicked off. For a brief moment, the black dragon shone like an ebony shadow with ruby eyes. He looked down at them for a brief moment, and Yami could've sworn that he saw the dragon wink.

The boys stared up at him in astonishment before he rose up even higher and higher until finally… he disappeared in the silvery mist. Yami couldn't do anything but star, trying to see where Misasmador had gone—but at that second the tower began to fall. It was shattering into millions of pieces like it was made of glass, the stone tumbled like a tower of blocks that's been knocked over by a toddler.

They fell, one after another, into the water—disappeared, never to be seen again. Once the tower was nothing more than a giant pile of ruins, the island itself was engulfed the giant waves. It was pulled down beneath the water just as a wave overtakes a toy boat.

The roaring of the waves was so horrible that Yami had to cover his ears with his hands and shut his eyes as he ducked down behind the sides of the ship. The ship flew far from the island and with a splash landed in the sea. But Yami didn't look up. He just continued to keep wishing that it would all be over soon, and after a few minutes, he felt a small hand on his own.

He opened his eyes to see Yugi looking at him. He gestured his head, telling him to look, and Yami slowly turned his head to see what Yugi was trying to tell him.

The crystal of power was made by the gods. They created it so that they could control mankind and their destiny, by merely touching it, you gain power unlike anyone had ever seen. However, to make sure no one could easily take its power, the crystal was stored at the Vanishing Isle, in a large tower. From the top of the tower, light spills out the crystal, which makes the tower look like a lighthouse… was now gone without a trace. As if it never existed.

"Wow," was all Yugi could say.

"You can say that again," Yami whispered.

"But what happened to Misasmador?" Yugi asked quietly.

Yami looked up at the sky and said, "He's finally free. He doesn't have anything to guard here anymore. So now he can go wherever he wants."

"Good for him," Yugi said. "But is it really all over?"

Just as he asked that, the silver mist that surrounded them slowly dissolves around them. The fog was so thick that you could cut through it with a knife. But now rays of light began to shine through, until the mist had completely dispersed.

They were in sitting on a large ship in the middle of the ocean, there was hardly a trace of a wave, and the sun was shining brightly. It was hard to believe that an entire island with a tower that was a few miles high had just been standing there, with a cursed haze protecting it.

Yami shut his eyes again and let the sun hit his face. He loved it; he missed the light and longed for it more than anything from the moment that they were kidnapped. He breathed in the salty air, as if he never tasted it before, and the sound of the waves and the distant seagulls was music to him. He decided at that moment that he was never going to be separated from the sun and the sea air by anyone. He would live his life out as sea—with his abiou— his little brother by his side.

"Yami?" Yugi croaked out, leaning up against the side gasping for air. "What now?"

"What do you mean?" Yami said serenely.

"I mean… where do we go now?"

"Anywhere we want to. Just like Misasmador. We don't have to worry anymore," Yami replied. He opened his eyes, bent down next to Yugi and pulled him into a tight hug. "We have what we set out to get. We found the ship, we're both still alive, the Vanishing Isle is gone, and we're free. From now on, I swear that I'm going to protect you. From now on, we're going to be ok… I promise."

Yugi started crying as he wrapped his arms around Yami, holding him as if he were the only thing that was keeping him here.

"You're still sick," Yami whispered. "Come on, let's get you to bed. We'll decide what to do when you're better."

And with a great heave, he was able to pull Yugi back up. "You do want to stay with me right?" he asked. "I mean, I don't know where I'm going… but you're welcome to come along for the ride."

Yugi closed his eyes and smiled. "Of course, I'll be going too. Every good captain needs a co-captain, right?"

**_*6 years later*_**

It had been 6 years since the Vanishing Isle sank beneath the waves. No one had seen a trace of the two boys or the flying ship since then… but then again, no one knew what happened that day.

On the shores of a small fishing village however a familiar teenage boy with spiky hair was shopping for food. He paid for a large red apple before he took the rest of his groceries and headed back down towards the docks. As he walked, he took a big bite from the apple and looked around for his big brother.

Knowing that his brother didn't like to let him out of his sights for longer than 10 minutes, he was sure that he would see him soon. And sure enough, a teen that could've easily passed for his twin came running up to him carrying a few other supplies.

"I've been looking for you," the older one said as if he were a parent.

"Yami," Yugi said exasperated, "I'm not 10 years old anymore. I think I do the shopping without you holding my hand."

"I just don't want to any chances of something happening," Yami said defensively. "I mean, I can't fly the ship on my own. And there is no way that I'm going to lose my little brother."

Yugi laughed. "And remind me—what's so scary and dangerous about the marketplace? And speaking of the ship—don't you think it's about time that we get a crew? I mean we already have a Captain and a co-Captain. But what about a first mate, musician, cook, lookout, cabin boy, powder monkey, parrot, deck swab…"

"Parrot?" Yami question with eyebrows rose.

"What? All good pirates need parrots," Yugi said sweetly.

"We aren't pirates," Yami answered. "We're high-risk traders."

"In other words—pirates," Yugi said.

"Well, if you want to put it that way. And maybe we do need a few more shipmates. I'm tired of doing all the cooking all the time."

"I would do it if you let me."

"I'm not taking any chances when it comes to your safety."

"You make it sound like the slightest thing could kill me off."

"I don't care. I nearly lost you, not once, but a few times!"

"That was 6 years ago!"

They continued their argument until they finally reached the ship, but they were both smiling. It didn't matter how much they argued, they just couldn't get mad at each other.

"Hard to believe how much time has passed. In some ways, it doesn't seem long at all—others time it feels like decades," Yugi said.

"Tell me about it," Yami agreed.

They both climbed aboard the ship and began to make ready to set sail. "You know?" Yami said, "I met some kids while you were shopping. A few boys and a couple girls. You think they could be our crew?"

"What were they like?" Yugi asked.

"Well, there was this blonde kid named Joey… he could be the first mate. Then there was his friend Tristan—maybe he could be like the powder monkey that you mentioned. And then there was the white haired kid, what was his name? Bakura? Yeah, I think that's it, anyway I could see that he eats a lot, so maybe he could be the cook?"

"That all sounds really cool!" Yugi said, "Who else was there?"

"Well, Joey had a little sister named Serenity, and then there was another guy named Duke, an older girl named Mai… oh and some brothers Seto and Mokuba. Not sure if Seto would be keen joining our crew. I personally thought that he was something like an ego manic who talks too much. By the time I finally left, he must've talked about himself for half an hour."

"Wow, he sounds like a real keeper," Yugi said sarcastically. "But I say that we sleep on it first. I mean, it's going to feel strange if we have new people around. For years, it's just been you and me."

Yami smiled as he put his arm around Yugi's shoulders and they both headed below deck to put the stuff away. Yugi grinned and they both began to start laughing at the top of their lungs.

"Yami," Yugi said between their laughs. "Promise me not to walk in front of me; and don't walk behind me. Promise to just walk beside me and be my friend."

Yami looked at him dead in the eye. For years it had just been the two of them against the world. After they left the site where the Vanishing Isle had been, Yugi had recovered slowly from his ordeal. Ever since then, Yami had done good on his promise and always made sure that they were safe and well taken care of.

After Yugi had fully healed, they've been sailing around the world looking for adventure and treasure. The ship was their home and all they had to do was tell it where to go and off it went by itself, using some kind of magic to sail it.

They only came to shore when they needed to pick up supplies, or when they were on the trail of a treasure hunt. But Yami couldn't care less about the jewels and money that were left behind from pirates. His greatest treasure was walking side by side with him…

… and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I promise," he whispered. "The two of us… we'll always be a team."

"We'll always be family," Yugi agreed.

They finished putting everything away before they went back up top. Soon after that, they left port—ready to beginning searching for their next adventure.

**THE END**

(Thanks you all for sticking with this story for so long. I hope that you all enjoyed it.)


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